Beaufort's Torment
by WriterKos
Summary: Tragedy strikes when and where you least expect it. When McGee has to choose between love or family, what will be the consequences? Proud Winner 2nd Place Best Other Het Romance FR18-21 Tim/Joy February 2011 NFA Hinky Awards
1. Tornado Warning

**_BEAUFORT'S TORMENT_**

**Summary**: Tragedy strikes when and where you least expect it. When McGee has to choose between love or family, what will be the consequences? Written for the NFA Little Sister Challenge. Part of the Buchanan series.

_**WARNING**: This is a story inspired by one of the darkest days in late modern American history, and about a violent trend of actions that have shocked America. That is the reason for its rating. I will try to write with sensitivity towards all those involved, and please be aware that I respect all those who died and were wounded during the real incident that inspired this story. _

In loving memory to all fallen Hokies. You are not forgotten.

**_Tornado Warning_**

**_Tuesday  
6:14 am_**

The sun shyly rose above the campus, illuminating with a pale yellow light the three story buildings spread out on the vast expanse of green and trees that marked Waverly University. In the co-ed dormitories, the darkness retreated to its hiding corners, as some students were slowly waking up, getting ready for a new day of study, and some were just arriving, after a long night of beers and wild parties.

In a small room at the end of corridor of the second floor of Wilmington dormitory, he slowly rocked himself, moving his body in fetal position forward and back, preparing himself mentally for his final act in this world. He looked at his tools laid out before him, certifying that none were missing.

After being mocked, hurt, humiliated and bullied for his entire life, those who dared to cross his path would finally receive the fitting end for their miserable existences.

He would make his mark in this world, and in it his goodbye letter would be written and signed by blood.

None would receive mercy, as no one had ever granted him mercy.

They would all pay.

NCOS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Lazy hands slowly traced the graceful curve of a female back, bringing shivers of delight to the young woman laying on her belly just a couple of rooms down the corridor.

Loving eyes followed the movement of the hands, and he was fascinated by the perfection of form and color before him, and he never got tired of admiring it under the faint dawn light.

"You're staring again, Matt."

Matthew Buchanan smiles at the beautiful female who was before him, who shook his life like a storm and had only a faint idea of the power she held in her little soft hands.

"I'm an admirer of beauty," he leans down and kisses Sarah McGee's shoulder, "and I have a masterpiece before me."

Sarah smiles at his flattery, and rolls so she can look at his eyes. Since they started dating a couple of months ago, since the fatidic kidnapping of his sister - who by the way happened to be Sarah's brother's girlfriend - the youngsters were (not so secretly) meeting. Whenever his commitments with the Marine Corps allowed, he would fly over and stay with Sarah, romancing her in the most outrageous Buchanan way.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," he smiles at her, and leans down to kiss her on her lips. After a while, he looks into her eyes, and "I don't want to go anywhere but here, exactly where I am."

Sarah gives him a toothy grin, and pushes him away, leaving the bed. He observes her going around the dorm room, getting her clothes to start her day. He looks around the room, and it is a typical dorm room like any other in America, with books and clothes thrown around the place, in a messy way. Sarah's side was marginally more organized than her roommate's side, but the amount of clothes and books piled up one on top of each other on the floor was still staggering.

Sarah's roommate had slept somewhere else that evening, and had not returned yet. So Sarah had invited Matthew for a private gathering, and they had not left the whole night.

_Ah, life is so good to me._

He is hit in the face by his trousers, and he fakes indignation, "Hey."

"Get ready fast, I want to leave for breakfast before Lisa arrives," she says smiling at him.

He stands up and starts putting his clothes on.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

6h20 am

He opens his eyes, after keeping them closed for some moments doing mental exercises, imagining the glory of this day, and stands up from his position on the unmade bed, and gets a backpack and starts putting the things he will need in it.

He had somewhere to go.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

6:41 am

Sarah and Matthew leave the dorm building, walking briskly towards the coffee shop just a couple of blocks down the road. They are still holding hands and have idiotic satisfied smiles on their faces.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

6:46 am

A door is kicked open, and a man enters the dorm room, startling its occupants out of their slumber. One of the girls looks at the invader, and she recognizes him, but does not recognize the angry look on his face nor the evil looking gun in his hand.

A shot is heard, and the girl, barely out of her teens, falls forward in a pool of blood. Her roommate, seeing the fate of her friend, opens her mouth to release a terrified scream, which is forever silenced by another shot.

One of the resident assistants hears the noise, and goes to investigate its source. He runs from his room towards the origin of the gunshots, and is caught by surprise by a gun turned towards his face as soon as he enters the two girls` room.

He never saw it coming.

And that was just the beginning.

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	2. Squall

**_Squall  
_****_6h50 am_**

**_"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor, take warning." Anonymous _**

The vast room felt empty without its usual dwellers. Its bright orange walls had seen many tragedies and acts of bravery, being silent witnesses of the everyday battles that each agent faced in their careers. The space was divided by several workstations, each turned into a little shrine to the personality of its occupant. In the last six cubicles, the ones near to the back of the room and besides the stairs going to the upper level, a very eclectic collection of items that were dear to each of the agents could be seen

On top of one desk, one could see a movie almanac along with a Mighty Mouse stapler, and several files of pending cases hazardously piled in some type of order. Some newspaper clippings were hanging on the small wall behind the desk and a small TV completed the setting.

The desk right in front of it housed a container full of paperclips, some of them hazardously bent as if the person had a nervous tick of destroying them whenever she felt like it. A vase with some type of plant decorated the table, and the files in the in and out tray were meticulously organized, just waiting for the arrival of the desk's rightful owner.

Both desks didn't have any personal pictures on them, as they had no wish to be reminded of the blood related family members they had, and their honorary family members they truly cared for... well, they actually got to see them everyday.

The desk right beside the one with the paperclips had two computer screens, and it was strangely empty of papers or knickknacks. It was meticulously organized, almost in a military way. On the wall behind it, however, there was something that did not fit the image: a child's drawing, showing colored stick figures in a field with sunny skies above. A bittersweet memory from a happy time in the past.

Across that one, there was another desk, this one also with folders of previous cases carefully organized chronologically in the in and out trays. An extra USB hub could be seen on top of the desk, close to the state of the art keyboard, in the eventual need of more connections for its user. There was a picture frame on top of the desk, in which the desk owner could be seen hugging a very young brunette, with long curly hair and a beautiful smile.

On the other side of the cubicle divider, closer to the corridor leading to the forensics lab and the morgue, there was another desk. This one had three different snow globes on top of it, from different parts of the world. A small souvenir stress ball in form of a Guinness pint was by the computer speakers, and the cracks in the soft plastic showed that the stress ball had been frequently used. There was also a small miniature of the Eiffel Tower, right besides a small painted miniature of the Temple Bar from Dublin.

At exactly seven am, people started to slowly drift into the bullpen, and the soft sound of computers slowly booting filled the air.

Tony DiNozzo arrived at seven-o-two, with a huge grin on his face and a swing in his step. He had his own reasons to be this happy. He boots his computer and as soon as he can, he starts surfing the internet looking for something he found the night before.

His partner, Ziva David, arrives only two minutes after him. She greets him and goes directly to her computer, doing her routine as she had every day before today.

"Hey Ziva," says Tony DiNozzo, smirking at the screen of his computer, "check this out."

"What Tony?" the beautiful brunette looks up from her screen, annoyed at her partner who had interrupted her routine of checking her emails fist thing in the morning.

"I'm surfing Sarah's Facebook and she just added some new pictures to her brand new album."

"McGee's sister? So what's so special about that?"

Tony is smiling delightedly at the pictures, and leans to the side so he can look at his partner, and stage whispers, "her album's title is Me and My boyfriend on a romantic getaway."

"No way."

"Way, just check it out."

Ziva quickly types in her password in her website, and starts checking the updates. And she is shocked when she sees the pictures on Sarah's personal page.

"Isn't that…" says Ziva, flabbergasted.

"Yep," says Tony, grinning.

She squints at Tony, "did you know that?"

"Found out last night," his eyes return to the screen, "from the number of pictures and the different settings, I would say that it has been going on for a while."

Both agents start checking the pictures of the album, and at each picture they see more and more of the blossoming relationship of the youngest McGee.

"Do you think McGee knows?

"I'm sure he doesn't, otherwise we would have seen the fireworks by now," says Tony, already planning the torture he will inflict on his Probie.

The elevator dings, and McGee and Buchanan leave the car arguing loudly, with their backpacks in their hands.

"I can't believe you hid it from me, that's my sister we're talking about."

"It wasn't my secret to tell, she told me she would talk to you whenever she felt ready."

"Sure, and what better way than to proclaim for the whole world to see?"

He drops his backpack on the floor by his desk, and Buchanan looks at him, exasperated, standing before his desk. Tony and Ziva are watching them argue curiously, as it is very rare for them to fight like that. But if there is one thing that McGee is extremely protective of, that definitely would be his sister.

"I know that what they did was wrong, but they weren't sure of where this thing," she makes an exaggerated wave with her hand to make her point, "was going, and they decided to wait a little longer, before making any decision, and whenever they can they meet, there's nothing wrong with that, they are quite young, they are entitled to their own mistakes."

"Yes," he leans towards Joy, towering over her, "but he is a Marine, God knows who he has dated before, and where he has been, and I don't want my sister to live like…" he looks up, "like Lisa, Johnny's wife, who spends most of the year by herself while he is serving on the other side of the world."

"Are you implying that Matthew was something like a male whore and slept around before meeting Sarah?"

McGee shuts up, biting his lower lip, trying not to insult Joy's family again, but the damage is already done. She is mad at him, and valiantly defends her brother.

"Well, newsflash, he's twenty five and contrary to what you wish for, he wasn't born on the day he met Sarah," she is fuming, and Tony and Ziva are watching the argument like tennis match spectators, their eyes going from McGee to Buchanan and back to McGee, "yes he has a past, but for your information, McGee, we all were properly educated to respect whoever we enter into a relationship with. It means that we are always in exclusive relationships, and Matthew would never ever hurt whoever he's dating, much less someone as important as Sarah."

Tony looks at Ziva, and whispers, "Can we order popcorn?"

"That's better than shark week," says Ziva.

"So she's important now, what guarantees can I have he will treat her right? I don't know him, I barely spoke to him when I met him, and that was months ago," whines McGee.

"For crying out loud, McGee, the boy grew up with five sisters, four of them older than him, all of them are FBI agents and licensed to carry weapons," she looks exasperated at him, "none of the boys ever dared to disrespect any woman in their lives because they knew that there would be consequences, that we would hunt them down and ask for retribution."

She smiles at him, "and you are forgetting a very important secret weapon."

"What?"

"Sarah has mom's phone on her speed dial, she told me that any false step on his part and she would rat him out to mom." McGee is looking at Joy with an astonished expression on his face, deeply impressed by the cunning attitude of his sister.

"She has him by the balls, and the funniest part," she approaches McGee and shakes him lightly by his shoulders, "he doesn't give a damn, he's loving it."

McGee still pouts, still unsure of the fledging romance between their respective siblings.

"I still don't have to like it or agree."

"Ok, pout as much as you want, but don't give them a hard time, they already have so little time together that it's not fair to spoil their time with your excessive protection and well-meaning bossiness."

"I'm not exceedingly protective," she looks at him and snorts, walking towards her own desk and depositing her backpack on the floor, "I'm not," he protests.

"Sure, fine, whatever."

"I just don't want Sarah to live like…" she looks up at him, with understanding on her eyes, "I just want someone who will be there for her, not someone who will spend most of the year gallivanting around the world, always with the very real danger of not coming back. That's not the life I wanted for her."

Joy stands by her own desk, studying the surface of it for a moment. She looks up, and studies McGee for a moment.

"Is that your biggest concern? That Matt might not be there for her, due to his commitment to the Corps?"

McGee shrugs half-heartedly, but all his body language screams that the answer is yes. Buchanan rolls her shoulders, trying to dispel the tension in them, while she thinks for a moment.

"He's quitting the Corps, Tim."

McGee is shocked into silence. Buchanan looks down to her own hands, waiting for the shock to pass.

"Matthew is quitting the Marines?" McGee is astonished, "but he loves the Corps."

"No," Joy approaches his desk, and stares into his eyes, and says, "he loves working with the Engineering Corps, doing what he does best in relief areas, but his real passion is building, construction works and engineering, building something," Joy studies Tim's face, and tries to convince him with all her sincerity, "he's been playing with Lego blocks since he was three and never really stopped."

"Why?"

"He told Dad that he still has two, maybe three years of mandatory service. Once he's done, he is planning of asking for being discharged so he can start his own construction company."

She smiles at his astonished face, "Sarah still has two years until she graduates: until then, they can date, experiment, see if this is really what they want for themselves, by the time she graduates they will have a clearer picture of what their plans are and then they can move forward from there."

She turns around and walks towards her own desk, and talks over her shoulder, "And besides, he loves the marines but apparently, he loves your sister more."

She smiles smugly at McGee, who has an astonished expression on his face. Gibbs enters the bullpen, with his coffee cup in his hand, and finds McGee staring at Joy's back, and hits him with a slap.

"No lovestruck gazing at each other in office hours. We have a dead petty officer."

"Ah, Boss, but I wasn't…" he mumbles, and Joy smirks and gets her backpack, ready to roll. The agents get ready and leave the bullpen, following Gibbs towards the elevators.

It was 7:33 am.

* * *

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	3. Soft Gale

**_SOFT GALE_**

_**9:43 am**_

The agents drove to Norfolk, and once they arrived at the Navy Station they gathered around the dead petty officer laying on the floor. McGee took pictures of the crime scene, Tony was doing the sketches, while Joy and Ziva tried to round up witnesses willing to give their statements.

Tony smirks at McGee every once in a while, and McGee was starting to get pissed off at the behavior of his team mate.

"So…"

"So what?"

Tony pretends he's wiping a fake tear from his eyes, "It is so sad."

McGee looks at his team mate as if he's having a seizure, or as if he finally lost ALL his marbles.

"What, the dead petty officer? You've seen this before."

"No, not him," he waves his hand, dismissing the corpse he's sketching, "the growing pains you must be feeling, knowing that Sarah, oh precious Sarah, is dating one of the Buchanan brothers. It must be terrifying knowing that a male, with a healthy libido, is anywhere close to your precious sister." He puts his hand over his mouth, which opened like an O, and he opened his eyes wide, in a fake mask of surprise.

"Just imagine, McBig Brother, what he might want to do or what he has already done to your little sister?"

McGee stares at Tony, imagining him suffering unspeakable torture and pain, wishing he could punch the smug look off of his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, and used the mental exercises Joy had shown him, that she had been using to deal with stress and with the trauma she had been through.

Funny, regardless how many times he tried to imagine an open field with calm blue skies and soft wind blowing on barley fields, his peaceful mental picture always turned into an area destroyed by an oncoming tornado.

"Hahaha, very funny, Tony." He goes back to taking pictures, and he does his best to ignore his team mate, who wouldn't lose the chance to mess with his head.

Meanwhile, Ziva and Buchanan were collecting witness statements, and weren't having much luck with the forthcoming witnesses. Several frustrating minutes later, and three witnesses, they had report of a man, maybe a woman, tall, average height, maybe fat, running towards Clifton Street and entering in a SUV, maybe dark blue, or would it be black? He was wearing a jumper with a hood covering his head, it was maybe black, probably blue, but definitely wearing jeans.

Ziva smiled thinly at the latest witness, "Thanks for your cooperation." She turns her back on the Good Samaritan and walks alongside Joy back to the crime scene.

"That was a total waste of time," says Joy.

"They aren't really paying attention to the car nor to the suspect, it's very rare we have reliable eyewitnesses." She looks at Buchanan, who had totally healed from her ordeal a couple of months ago.

"So Matthew is officially dating Sarah," says Ziva, giving Buchanan a toothy grin, and Joy smirks at the Israeli. "Since when has this romance been going on?"

"As far as Hope and Temp told me, since they met when I was in the hospital," says Joy, "apparently my brother had no idea what he was getting into when mom sent him to pick McGee's sister at Waverly."

"So your brother believes in love at first sight?"

Buchanan smiles at Ziva, shaking her head in the negative, "he believes in lust at first sight; in his emails he told me he was totally smitten with Sarah as soon as he met her, but he initially thought he had no chance." She shrugs, "she pursued him, gave him the idea she would be open to" she blushes a little, "more engaged activities, and he went for it. Afterwards, he panicked," she laughs whole heartedly, "as he imagined what I or McGee would do to him when we finally find out, and then finally he started imagining what _my mom _would do to him when _she_ finally finds out."

Ziva is in stitches, she is laughing so hard, "what did he decide to do to avoid certain death by Buchanan women's hands?"

"He told me he proposed…" says Buchanan smiling, and Ziva stops and looks at Joy, astonished.

"No way."

"Well, not marriage, but a more committed relationship, he was tired of the same flirting around with a stranger thing, and he really liked Sarah. So, whenever he's stateside, he stays with her, not on base or in the extra room at Faith's house."

"And how McGee is dealing with it?" Buchanan makes a face, and rolls her eyes at Ziva.

"I see," mutters Ziva.

"He hit the roof the first time he saw them together, and when Sarah started posting her 'boyfriend's pictures' on Facebook," Buchanan makes quotation marks with her fingers, "I thought he would have a heart attack." She looks at McGee, who has a surly expression on his face, and Tony, who is grinning from ear to ear and talking non-stop to the younger agent. They can't hear Tony, but whatever he's saying is not making McGee any happier by the moment.

"McGee is very protective of his sister," says Ziva, studying both men talking at a distance.

"He has his own reasons to be," says Joy, and Ziva looks at Buchanan questioningly. But she doesn't elaborate on the answer, "Let's give the bad-close-to-no news to Gibbs." And she starts walking, and Ziva starts following her with a puzzled expression on her face.

"What do you mean by that?" Ziva is looking at Joy, silently demanding an explanation, but Joy ignores the curious looks and walks faster, "not my story to tell, Ziva."

Gibbs studies the dead body, and looks at Ducky, "TOD, Duck?"

Ducky looks at the liver probe, and says, "according to this, approximately three to four hours ago, Jethro." He turns to Jimmy, "help me put him in the bag, we need to get a better look at those bruises on his legs on my table, but I would say that the cause of death is force blunt trauma to the head," he moves the head carefully, showing the bleeding and broken tissue on the wound, "caused by some sort of object being repeatedly hit on his head." Jimmy silently helps the older M.E. to slip the corpse into the body bag, and stands up to collect the stretcher from the van.

"He was beaten to death," says Gibbs.

"Indeed, my friend," says Ducky as he stands up besides Gibbs, "despite my chosen profession, each day that passes I'm more astonished at the frailty of human life and the banality of violence."

Gibbs looks at the two women approaching him, and waits for their reports.

"Our petty officer was ambushed by a tall man, in non descript clothes, as soon as he left his car," Ziva points to the car parked just a block from where they are, "he takes some steps, and he's attacked on his back, and shortly after he's dead."

"Any ideas?" he asks looking at Joy, who shakes her head in the negative.

"The attack seems random, but the intense anger behind the blows suggests our perpetrator knew the victim. We will have to do a background check to start a draft of preliminary profile, but initially, I don't have enough data to start one."

Gibbs looks at the boys, who are taking pictures of the blood spatters and taking the prints off of the car.

"Get McGee and order a full background check done, once you have the family identified, give their address to Ziva and Tony to contact them and inform them of the attack."

"Yes, Boss."

Buchanan's phone rings and she fishes it out of her trouser pocket and answers.

"Buchanan." She smiles when she hears whoever is in the other side of the line.

"Hey Faith," she looks at Gibbs and Ziva, indicating that it's her oldest sister, section chief at the FBI.

"No, I'm not in the Navy Yard, we're in Norfolk, investigating a murder, why?"

Her smile starts to fade, as whatever her sister is telling her shocks her into muteness. She looks briefly at Gibbs, and he can clearly see that there is pain and panic on her eyes. She lowers them briefly, and just grunts in accordance to whatever Faith is speaking to her. She turns towards the boys, and sees Tony taking a hair off of McGee's shoulder, and McGee looking exasperated at his senior agent.

"How long ago was it?"

Another pause. Joy looks at her wristwatch, it was only 9:51 am.

"What's your ETA?"

She gulps, and looks at Ziva and Gibbs, and both can see the pain in her eyes.

"We're on our way, but it will take a while until we arrive back in DC. Keep me posted on any changes of status, if you… specially if you find them."

Pause to hear whatever Faith says.

"Thanks, Faith, love you too." She disconnects, and looks dead serious at Gibbs.

"What's wrong?"

"Sir," Gibbs tenses, as Buchanan only forgets and calls him Sir when things are going straight to hell, "I would like to request immediate dismissal for me and Agent McGee from this case, we are needed back in DC."

Ziva feels tension creeping up her spine, as if someone walked on her grave. Gibbs is glaring at his agent, trying to read the reason behind such a strange request, but besides her apparent turmoil, she is not giving the reason away to him. At least, not now. "Why?"

She looks again at where the boys are talking, looking at the evidence pictures they had just taken. Gibbs can clearly see the pain and despair in her eyes, and her voice chokes when she says, "It's Sarah, sir."

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	4. Strong Gale

_**STRONG GALE**_

_Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you. - _**_Muhammad Ali_**

_**10:03 am**_

McGee closes his evidence kit, and puts away all equipment he used to dust the car. He is ignoring Tony's chatter on purpose, as it is better not to pay attention to him anyway.

"I wonder if the dragon lady knows about them? You know, as a couple." McGee stands up and glares at Tony, and notices Ziva, Joy and Gibbs approaching them with solemn expressions on their faces.

"We're finished here, we're ready to tow the car to the evidence garage." He lightly taps the hood of the car, and sees that Gibbs is looking at him, not really caring about the evidence gathered.

Tony notices their faces, and immediately gets on guard, "Who died?" McGee looks from Tony to Buchanan, whose face briefly cringes at Tony's choice of words before slipping her stone professional mask.

"What's wrong?" he asks, and he starts to feel very afraid of the answer.

"Give your evidence to Tony, we are leaving now, McGee," says Buchanan, without intonation in her voice.

He looks at Gibbs and Ziva, but their faces are not giving any hint of what's wrong.

"Why?"

Buchanan looks at him, and he sees unshed tears in her eyes, as she says softly "We are needed in DC, McGee, we have to leave now."

Even Tony notices something is very wrong. He looks briefly at Ziva, who shakes her head in the negative, showing that she will not talk about it.

"What happened?" Joy looks at him sadly, and sighs deeply before giving any explanation.

"There was an …" she looks into his eyes, and he sees her pain in relating it to him, "an incident at Waverly University," McGee feels cold creeping up his spine, and for a moment he could not feel his body from the waist down, such was the terror he felt coursing through his body, and he vaguely hears that Joy is still speaking, "they are not sure about the number of the victims, the FBI was called in, but Faith want us there now…"

"Sarah, Sarah is…" he can't continue, as his voice chokes and he feels tears threatening to spill.

"Unaccounted for." She looks down briefly at her nervous hands, and when she sees that she is twisting them she freezes and looks up at him again, "all I know is that there was a shooting, and that Matthew was with her then, he called in the attack and spoke briefly with Faith. He said they were safe for the moment, but that was over 40 minutes ago." She gasps trying to hold up the pain, but she says with tears in her eyes, "He hasn't contacted Faith since then, and neither Sarah nor Matthew are answering their phones."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

_10:20 am_

It was a very sombre group that drove back to DC. After some deliberation, Ziva and Tony stayed behind to finish processing the scene, and Gibbs offered to drive McGee and Buchanan back to DC. McGee stared out of the window without really seeing the scenery speeding past, not complaining a single moment about Gibbs' maniac driving style, that shortened the trip between the cities by at least one hour, and that indifference deeply worried both Gibbs and Joy about his state of mind.

Ducky and Jimmy gave their sympathies, and wished that the young McGee was found safe and sound.

The phone rang, and Joy promptly answered, "Buchanan."

Gibbs looks at her in the rear-view mirror, and McGee turns in his seat towards the backseat where she is.

"I'm putting you on speakerphone, Faith, so McGee and Gibbs may hear you too," she touches a button on her IPhone, and both men hear Faith's voice.

"Hey Gibbs, McGee," she pauses, shouting something out of the phone, "listen, so far what we know is the following, there was a shooting in the dorm early in the morning, and the Metro Police was called in. Three students were found dead in one of the rooms. That happened approximately 6:30 am. Metro PD came in, checked the place and stayed until eight am, and left."

"Approximately 9:04 am a 911 call was received by the Emergency services, reporting a shooting in Wilsburg Hall. The person said that another student went Rambo and was shooting everyone in the classrooms on the second floor of the building," McGee closes his eyes, as he knows that his sister studies on the second floor of Wilsburg Hall, "the person was shot dead while she spoke to the emergency services, but the phone stayed on and they were able to hear everything that happened there."

Gibbs hands tightened around the steering wheel, and he stepped harder on the gas pedal, going faster.

"How many victims?" he asks Faith.

Faith sighs, and talks again to someone, ordering him to bring more gauze. McGee looks briefly at Gibbs, and his eyes cross with Gibbs' stare, and sees that he's as worried as he is.

"So far, nineteen, but we're still counting."

"What about Sarah?" asks McGee, without showing his inner turmoil.

"McGee," Faith sighs on the phone, and seems to move away from the turmoil in the background and go to a quieter place to talk to the agents, "when I spoke to Matthew, it was 9:10 am, exactly six minutes after the first 911 call was made. He told me that he was in a locked room with Sarah and twenty other students, and that he had barricaded the door. He had no idea what was happening outside, or who the shooters were, but that he was adamant about protecting both Sarah and the others with his life if necessary. That was the last time I spoke to him, and so far we haven't found the room where he and the others are hidden. So far, we found three rooms with people locked in, but no sign of Sarah or Matthew."

"Who was the shooter?" Gibbs's mind is already working overtime, imagining if that was a planned terrorist attack or if it was something much worst.

Faith stays silent for a moment, which prompts Gibbs to repeat his question, "Who was the shooter, Faith?"

"A kid, Gibbs," they can hear Faith's voice chocking with unshed tears, "it was a goddamned stupid kid, barely out of his diapers."

The occupants of the car stay silent for a moment, as they hear her trying to fight her tears, "he was barely in his twenties."

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	5. Tempest

**_TEMPEST_**

_Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them. - _**_Dalai Lama_**

**Waverly University Campus  
8:20 am **

Sarah's class was due to start at 8:30 am, so Matthew, after having a hearty breakfast with his beloved, walked her into her study hall, leading her towards the Creative Writing class in room 206 on the second floor. He walks her to the door, and they pop their heads inside and see that only two other students arrived early for the class.

"Wait here, ok?" Sarah enters the room, leaves her things on her desk, says hi to her friends and leaves the room, grabbing Matthew's hand and leading him down the corridor.

"What are you doing?"

She smiles saucily at him, and climbs the stairs to the third floor. Once on it, they walk down the corridor to an unoccupied language lab. She checks inside the lab, sees that indeed her class schedule was right, nobody will use the lab until after lunchtime and drags Matthew, who has been docilely following her with a smile on his face, inside.

She locks the door from the inside after he enters the lab, and attacks him, kissing him ferociously. He smiles and proceeds to answer with the same hunger. After several minutes kissing, he feels Sarah's delicate fingers undoing his belt buckle. He stops her hands.

"Hey," he kisses her nose, "you have a class that started," he looks at his wristwatch, and closes his eyes as he feels Sarah licking his neck, "oh… oh… five… five minutes ago."

Sarah lifts her head, and takes a step back, "Professor Goldberg always arrives late." She takes her t-shirt off, showing an expanse of perfect skin and her delicate bra. Matthew opens his mouth, but no sound comes out of it.

"And I'm much more interested in another type of exercise," she unclasps her bra, and drops it slowly to the floor.

Matthew gulps, staring at the perfection before him.

"If you say so," he takes a step forward, and takes the young McGee in his arms lovingly, "I'm all for practice," he kisses her delicately, "lots of practice."

**8:55 am**

Fu Wang, a third generation Chinese-American who was studying in Waverly to graduate in his English major, slowly approaches the Wilburg Hall where he is scheduled to have a Creative Writing class in room 206. He's carrying a backpack, which in itself is not unusual, as jeans, a baggy shirt and a backpack seems to be the usual uniform of the students attending the classes.

He approaches the building, and he's happy to see that there's no one around the entrance of the building, as he is late for his class. He climbs the stairs towards the main entrance of the building and stops. He turns around and looks at the green grass that extends for several meters around the building, and sees no one. Everyone is supposed to be in class already. He puts his backpack on the floor, and walks towards the big hall doors, and struggles with them. After some precious minutes, the doors unlock and silently move to close. Once they are closed, he opens the backpack and gets a thick chain from it, and uses it on the door handle, effectively locking it. He puts a deadbolt on it, and slips a piece of paper, stating that anyone trying to open the door would set off an explosive device, under the door.

After locking the door, he closes his backpack and walks down the corridor towards the stairs, he has a class to attend.

**9:02 am **

"Ah Matt, I…" Sarah moans.

"Sarah, I… I think I love you." He groans, his breathing coming in gulps.

"Matt, I love you too."

**9:03 am **

Wang arrives at the second floor of the hall, and starts walking down the corridor. He hears the murmur of the students behind the closed doors, and he stretches himself on his toes to peek inside the rooms through the small window on the door. He looks first at room 203, where Professor Viviane Bittencourt is giving a French test. He counts how many students there are, and sees some students looking at him curiously through the small window on the door.

He then walks to room 204, 205, 206, 207 and 211. Rooms 208 up to 210 were empty that semester, due to faulty electrical wiring.

He lays his backpack on the floor, opens it, and grabs two semiautomatic handguns from it. He handles them with expertise and grabs extra magazines and put them on the pockets of his trousers.

He walks back towards room 204 and opens the door. Professor Dinesh Partha looks up from his text book, which he's reading out loud to explain the complicated chemical process of creating rubber, and he's caught by surprise by the appearance of a young man with a very mean gun pointed to his face.

"What is the meaning of th…" he never finished his sentence, as a bullet in his face kills him. The students are shocked, not even having the chance of screaming, before the armed youth turns on them and opens fire.

**9:04:15 am**

Both lovers freeze when they hear something that had no place in that calm morning.

"What was that?" The sound repeats, and Matthew immediately tenses up, releasing Sarah and immediately looking for their clothes. He throws her things at her, and looks around the room looking for anything that might be used as a weapon. She is getting scared, and she looks confused at his strange reaction.

"Get dressed."

"What?" she looks at him confused, "What's that sound?"

"Hurry, get dressed. No time for explanations, get dressed."

**9:04:45 am**

"911, how may I help you?"

Shots are heard through the connection, and the attendant immediately tenses.

"Sir?"

"HE HAS A GUN!" More shots, and the attendant stands up and gestures to his supervisor, indicating he has a grave emergency on the line.

"Sir, where are you?"

More shots and screams, and then no screams at all.

"Sir, where are you?"

"Second floor, Wilsburg Hall, Waverly Univer…" Another shot, and whoever was speaking is silenced forever.

The attendant takes his headset off, and immediately starts tracing the call, which is still connected and transmitting. He puts it on the speakerphone, and they hear sobbing and moaning. More shots.

The supervisor immediately calls the upper floor, and demands to talk with the Metro Homicide detective on duty.

"Detective Bechelli speaking."

"We have a situation at Waverly University," he looks at the computer screen, and the attendant points to the active signal of the still connected mobile phone inside Wilburg Hall.

"What kind of a situation?"

He rewinds the tape, and plays the few seconds of the recording to him. After the detective hears it, he stops the tape, and speaks sadly, "It's Virginia Tech all over again."

* * *

a/n: tighten your seatbelts, we're going in a rough ride...


	6. Tornado

_**Tornado**_

_**10 If you falter in times of trouble,**_  
_**how small is your strength!  
**__**Proverbs 24:10 - NIV**_

**Waverly University  
9:05:54 am**

After killing the professor and six students in room 204, and six students and the professor in 205, Wang walks out to the corridor and goes to the room right across 206, where his class was supposed to be. The panicked professor still closes the door, vainly trying to protect the lives of the students inside, but Wang shoots him through the door twice. Once the professor is dead, he kicks the door open, and opens fire against nine students who were trying to escape their seats running to the open window.

They drop like flies.

People poke their heads out of the classrooms, and Wang goes out and sees the curious souls. They bring their heads back into the classrooms, and in a mad attempt to save their lives they close the doors, and try to barricade the doors with whatever is available. Wang walks back to room 203, and can't open the door. Professor Viviane and another student are holding the door closed, while the other nine students are struggling with the window, trying to escape the massacre.

Wang smiles sadistically, and opens fire against the door. Even though they are mortally wounded, both Professor Viviane and her student still keep the door closed with all their fading strength. The students, thirteen in total, start jumping through the window, without regard for the fall. As Wang sees that his potential victims are escaping, he shouts like a wounded animal, and keeps on firing against the door until the gun starts to click. It is empty.

He loses some precious seconds reloading both weapons, and as he looks through the window, there is only one person in the room, ready to jump. He aims and shoots through the window. He falls.

**9:09:13 am**

"All units, all units," says the police dispatcher, "shooting at Waverly University."

The Metro Police cars, leaving from several PDs throughout the city, receive the call and are briefed on the situation, and speed through the city towards one of the worst nightmares that they had ever imagined.

**9:07:15 am**

Once properly dressed, Matthew grabs Sarah's hand firmly and with a piece of metal that he took from under the Lab tables, leaves to the corridor. There is some lull in the noise on the second floor, only hysterical shouting and moaning can be heard. And that worries Matthew a lot.

"Whatever happens, stay behind me, don't speak, if you see something that should not be there, run, don't wait for me, ok?" he says in a low voice, totally serious.

Sarah is starting to panic, "Matthew, what's happening? Was that noise really shots?"

He starts walking down the corridor, with his back glued to the wall. He sees a door opening further ahead, and grips Sarah's hand firmly and raises the metal bat in his hand, ready to strike whoever comes out.

An old man, with wire rimmed glasses pokes his head out, and when he sees them, glares at them for a moment. Matthew stares at him back, but Sarah takes a step towards him, "that's Professor Lewi Chewbowski, from applied Physics," she says to Matthew.

Matthew relaxes his guard a little, but still keeps the bat ready for any eventuality. The old man signals for them to come to him, and they hurry down the corridor and enter the room where he is.

As they enter it, they see twenty other students, all huddled in a corner of the lab. They seem to be in one of the Engineering labs, as Matthew recognizes some of the instruments.

"Who are you?"

Prof. Chewboski studies both youths cunningly, and sees a young man in his mid-twenties with a student he had seen several times on the corridors glued to his arm. By the state of their clothes and hair, they probably were engaging in activities he'd rather not know, but at least they were alive.

"Lance Corporal Matthew Buchanan, sir, and this is Sarah McGee." More shots are fired, and immediately Matthew pushes Sarah behind him and takes a defensive instance, coming close to the door to study the corridor.

Prof. Chewbowski sees that the young man has some military training, and decides to take advantage of the situation.

"Are you any type of cop?"

"I'm a marine, sir." He answers without taking his eyes from the corridor, assessing any kind of threat that might come from the lower floor.

Prof. Chewbowski goes through his pockets, until he finds his set of keys, "here." Matthew looks at him questioningly.

"I'm going to leave through that door, and you are going to lock it and barricade it." Matthew stands to full attention, studying the professor, who points to the heavy cabinets with tools, "barricade the door, use the cupboards or the tables, whatever, but don't let anyone, and I do mean anyone come through it until I come back, or until the cops arrive."

"Sir, I…"

"No," Sarah interrupts, "we have to do something," both prof. Chewbowski and Matthew look at her, and she starts to stop being afraid and starts getting mad, "people are dying out there, and we have to do something to help them!"

"Yes dear, I'm going to do something," Prof. Chewbowski leads her to one of the chairs and forcibly seats her in one of the chairs of the lab, "you will stay here safe, inside this locked room."

"No," she says, "I want to help them."

"Sarah," growls Matthew.

"What, they are dying!" More shots are heard, and they flinch at it.

Prof. Chewbowski turns to Matthew, and puts the keys in his hand, and closes it. He stares in Matthew's eyes, and tries to transmit the seriousness of the situation to him.

"Professor, we could help, we…" Sarah insists, but her pleading falls in deaf years.

"No," he looks at Matthew in the eye, and notices the resolve at his responsibility setting in, "you will protect these civilians, and you will not let anyone come through this door, do you hear me, marine?"

"Yes sir."

"That's an order."

"Yes sir."

Prof. Chewbowski nods and opens the door slowly, trying not to make any noise, "Lock it after me, don't open until I come back, or the police, ok?

"Yes Sir."

"No no no…" says Sarah.

She attacks Matthew, running to the open door. Matthews intercepts her and holds a hysterical Sarah in his hands, covering her mouth with his hands so she might stay silent. She struggles against his hold, but he drags her back into the room with the other terrified students and shuts the door.

She attacks him viciously, cursing him, as he locks the door with the key and puts it in his pocket.

"We have to help him, we have to do something we…."

"Sarah," he holds her forcefully by her shoulders, "stop." She starts crying even more, as they hear more shots being fired and more screaming.

More shots and there were no more screams.

He brings her to the furthest corner from the door, and drops Sarah on the floor, "stay here." He looks around the room looking for anything big enough to block the door but small enough so that can be moved. They are in one of the Engineering labs, with heavy machinery and workbenches.

He points to two male students, "you two, help me here."

He grabs a corner of one of the workbenches, and with the help of the two students barricade the door. Not satisfied yet, he and the two students drag a piece of equipment, probably a wood cutter, and lay it on top of the heavy bench, effectively blocking it.

"Do you have mobile phones with you?" he asks the student who helped him move machine.

"Yes, we all have," one of the students give his to him, and the others start going through their things, looking for their own phones.

"Good, turn it off"

"Why, do you want to get us killed? We must call the police, it is our only link with the outside world," says a scared girl with running mascara on her face.

"No listen, in the terrorist attacks in the hotels in Mumbai, in 2008, the terrorists tracked the victims by their mobile phones' signals. One of the victims, a politician, was stupid enough to call a radio station and give the exact location of where he was hiding, and the terrorists were listening to it, found their hiding place and everyone was killed, so obey and turn it OFF."

The students sullenly start turning off their phones, and handing it to him, who drops all of them in a trash can. Matt walks towards Sarah and sees her looking at her own phone without turning it off. He sits down by her side and gets the phone out of her hands, even though she fights him off.

"Give me that," she slaps Matt on the face, struggling with him, wanting her phone back.

"I want to call my brother!"

He looks at her, studying her for a moment.

"That's actually a good idea," and starts dialing on her phone.

"I thought you said they could trace our calls," says one of the Advanced Engineering students seeing that he is using Sarah's phone.

"Well, that's exactly what I'm counting on."

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.


	7. Twister

**Twister**

**Federal Bureau of Investigation  
Edgar Hoover Building  
****9:10 am**

"Buchanan speaking."

"Faith, it's me, Matt."

"Matt, what's up?"

"Listen, I need you to bring your SWAT team or any tactical equivalent to Waverley University."

"Why?" Shots are heard through the connection, and Faith tenses.

"What's going on, Matt?"

"Faith, just three words, Virginia Tech Massacre." Faith gasps, "Just get here ASAP, right now I'm safe with Sarah and twenty other students, in a locked room, but I don't know how many shooters are out there, their intentions or if the barricade will hold."

"Hang on, Matt, we're on our way."

"I'm turning off the phone, don't know if they're tracking it. I'm waiting for you guys."

"Take care, and whatever happens, protect the civilians, that's an order, ok Marine?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The connection is cut, and Faith stares at the phone in her hand for a second, waiting for the shakes to stop. She looks around the bullpen, where several other agents are working and one of them approaches her, noticing how pale she had become as she was speaking on the phone.

"Something wrong Agent Buchanan?"

She shakes her head, "everything is wrong," she walks decidedly to an empty chair and steps on it, then climbs on a empty desk and whistles, calling the attention of everyone in the bullpen. As soon as everyone in the room is looking at her, she says:

"Listen up everyone, we have a shootout going on at Waverly University, possible terrorist attack, all agents who are not working in current cases, please report to tactical to suit up and get ready to assault the place, we're leaving in five."

A flurry of activity starts, as agents stand up and start getting their guns and leaving the room, preparing themselves to face a nightmarish situation that they hoped never to go through again. AD Wittaker sees the commotion, leaves his office and goes to investigate the sudden activity in the bullpen.

"What's happening?"

"Shooting at Waverly University, possible terrorist attack," says one agent, who is putting his gun holster on.

"Who reported that? Why wasn't I informed about it?" The agent shrugs, and points to Faith Buchanan who was speaking to three other senior agents, at the same time she was speaking on the phone.

Wittaker approaches Buchanan, and hears that she's speaking with the emergency services, "I want all units you have available sent to Waverly University," she pauses for a moment, hearing what is being said in the other side, and answers, "no, I don't know the number of victims, I don't know the state of the victims, all I know that some are hurt, others are dead, and many more will be dead if you don't send anyone NOW." She growls the last words, and turns off the phone.

"Agent Buchanan," she turns to face AD Whittaker. He sees that, despite her professional mask, she is deeply worried.

"Report."

"I received the info from a reliable source that there is an ongoing shootout in Waverly University."

"What reliable source? You can't stop all activity in the Bureau because someone you think is telling the truth reports a terrorist attack, it must be verified first, how can you know…"

"Sir," she says, pissed off, "it was my baby brother."

AD Whittaker shuts up, and studies the barely contained fury on Agents Faith Buchanan's face. He looks around at the agents in the bullpen, several of them in a hurry to get ready to leave in answer to the threat.

He looks back at Agent Buchanan, and simply says, "Report to the roof in five minutes, there will be a helicopter waiting for you." He leaves the bullpen, and doesn't see the thankful look Agent Buchanan throws in his direction.

* * *

Reviews are food for my soul.


	8. Hail

**_Hailing skies_**

**_11 Rescue those being led away to death;_**  
**_hold back those staggering toward slaughter._**

**_12 If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"_**  
**_does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?_**  
**_Does not he who guards your life know it?_**

**_Proverbs 24:11,12 - NIV_**

**Waverly University  
9:07 am **

Wang goes to room 211, smiling sadistically at the carnage he's leaving on his wake. He finds the door blocked. He shoots through the door, wounding one student and one professor who were holding the door in place. However, he's not able to open the door, and all students, all fifteen of them, escape through the broken window.

Not happy with that, he goes to room 207, and again finds the door blocked. The terrified students had barricaded the door, and had all gathered in the corner as far way as possible from the door, in a vain attempt to protect their lives. The heavy cupboard ends up saving their lives, as he's not able to shoot through the heavy volumes sitting in it**. **No one is hurt in that room.

He keeps walking through the corridor, looking for more victims.

**9:11 am**

The Metro police cars swarm to the campus, their red and blue lights flashing, and the police officers find several scared students running from the building. Some are gravely hurt from their fall, as they jumped from the second floor. They immediately set up the perimeter, and take stock of the scene before them.

They find the main door as well as the fire escape closed with heavy chains, and the computer typed warning that, if they tried to open the door, they would set off a bomb. They immediately retreat and call the bomb squad.

More shots are fired inside.

**9:10 am**

Wang is not happy with the barricaded doors that are stopping him to achieve his goal. He smiles like a maniac, and walks back towards room 205. There were still three survivors, one of them critically wounded, and two of them tried in vain to block the door and save their fellow student's life. However, the professor's table did not have the girth necessary to stop an automatic gun, and Wang enters again, and shoots one of the students at point blank range, killing him instantaneously.

In a last act of desperation and goodwill, the last man standing throws his body over his friend and colleague, shielding the wounded with his own body. That seals his fate, as his back is riddled with bullets, but it also saves his friend, as all bullets stop in his body. His friend would be the sole survivor of that room that day.

He shoots several rounds into the dead body, enjoying its dance under the spray of bullets.

His guns click empty again, and he walks out to the corridor and takes some seconds to reload both guns.

He is taken by surprise to see someone on the corridor, looking scared at the bodies fallen on the corridor.

It's professor Chewbowski, from room 305.

_I've forgotten that they are also having classes on the third floor. _

Professor Chewbowsk is looking at the carnage, shaking his head at the meaningless waste of human life. As a holocaust survivor, he had seen many horrible things in the concentration camps, but this was peace time, no one should have to go through that during peaceful times.

He looks up, and sees a young man, a boy really, holding two guns and calmly reloading them.

"What have you done?"

"They deserved to die. They are nothing but sheep." He says without intonation, as his very humanity had been totally obliterated by his coward act.

The professor shakes his head, sadly "they're not sheep, they're human beings."

He finishes reloading his gun, smiles and points them at the professor, who tenses. He shoots several times, hitting the professor several times both in his chest and his neck. The professor looks at him with a betrayed expression on his face, and slowly falls to the floor, killed instantly.

"Not anymore."

He walks back to room 206, sees that all are finally dead, and leaves the room. It is time to visit room 305.

**9:13:13 am**

Matthew is holding a shaking Sarah in his arms, against his chest, and he feels her tears slowly running against his neck.

He runs his hands against her back, in a vain attempt to soothe her, but it ends up soothing him. As far as he could, he arranged so that they could all be protected in the small locked lab. He, with the help of two other students, had dragged another heavy workbench and put it beside the first one. Even if he shoots down the lock, the two heavy structures wouldn't let him move the door even an inch. The other benches he organized like trenches, and put all students behind them, as far away as possible and out of the range of shooting, in a corner.

He ordered all of them to lie down on the floor, and the men to lie on top of the girls, in order to protect their lives with their own bodies, if that became necessary. There was a little whimpering, but all of them were deadly silent. He was lying on top of Sarah, her back against the wall, and his body completely covering hers. A heavy workbench was laying on its side, acting as cover in the eventual failure of the barricade. He could feel the tremors shaking her body, but there was nothing he could do besides waiting.

He also would not lie. Things still could get much worse before they finally could get better.

He hears some type of noise in the corridor and tenses. All noise in the lab ceases, as all students try to hear what is happening outside. He hears someone's steps on the corridor.

He was here.

**9:13:49 am**

Wang strolls up to the third floor, with his semiautomatic guns leisurely hanging from his hands. He sees the door of room 305 closed, and smiles at the carnage he's about to make. He approaches the door and tries the doorknob.

**9:13:53 am**

Sarah's shaking intensifies, and Matthew can feel the waves of terror emanating from her body. He kisses her forehead softly, and shushes her.

The steps have stopped outside. They hear someone trying to open a door.

**9:14:21 am**

As Wang can't open the door, he tries to look inside the room through the small window on the door, but the lights are off and everything seems to be dark.

He struggles with it, and he can't open it. He roars and takes a step back and aims at the door, and opens fire.

**9:14:33 am**

Despite the fact that Matthew was fully expecting it, the shots still came as a surprise. He closed his eyes, and covered Sarah's body with his, mentally asking his family forgiveness for having failed in such important task.

Sarah's terror had reached unimaginable levels, and as the rounds started being fired against the door, her mind simply blanked and she obeyed the most primal feminine instinct before danger: she opened her mouth to scream her terror.

Matthew saw it happening, and immediately took action to shut her up. He put a hand over mouth, and did his best to silence her primal scream. The shots fired covered the muffled sound, but she became incensed against him and started scratching him, being totally dominated by the instinct to flee the very present danger she was in.

Despite her struggles, Matthew was bigger and stronger than her, and used his body to stop her struggles against him, as she became dominated by fear. He looked down at her with tears in his eyes, but held her firmly in his arms, one of his hands firmly over her mouth.

He felt tears pooling in his eyes, as she fought him with all of her strength, and he leans his head against her perfumed hair, and whispers, "you will survive this, even if you hate me for it."

More shots and a maniacal laugh are heard. Then finally silence.

**9:14:52 am **

Wang empties the rounds of one of his guns into the door, and laughs as he kicks it open. He walks in the room, and swipes the room with a gun. He's disappointed though, to find that the classroom is empty. No one is there. He goes back to the corridor, looks to the right and the left, and goes back to the stairs.

There are no sheep on this floor.

**9:15 am**

The Metro police got tired of waiting for the arrival of the bomb squad, who is still fifteen minutes out. They can hear the shooting still going on, and every minute they spent outside was someone else's kid that died. One officer shoots down a deadlock on the door of one of the ground floor labs, and calls up backup to enter the building.

They form tactical units and spread out on the ground floor, not finding a soul in any room. They silently move towards the stairs at the end of the corridor, towards the second floor. As they are already on the middle of the stairs, they hear another shot.

They speed up, hurrying to get to the second floor. As they reach it, they start finding the bodies scattered on the floor of the corridor.

**9:15:03 am**

Wang goes back to the second floor and walks down the corridor to his classroom, room 206. He steps over the dead bodies of those who tried to flee his revenge, and were shot down like fish in a barrel. He steps over Prof. Chibowskii's corpse and enters room 206. He sees his classmates, all of them dead with terrified expressions on their faces.

Finally, his work in this world is done. Exactly twelve minutes since his first shot, he turns the gun to his own head, and pulls the trigger.

* * *

Reviews are food for my soul.

a/n: WOW ...


	9. Haboob

**Haboob  
12:43 pm**

After a gut twisting drive from Norfolk to Washington DC, McGee, Joy and Gibbs finally arrive at Waverly University campus. The place is swarming with police cars, and there are police blocks on the access gates. They show their Federal Agent IDs and are granted access through the first two barricades, but the officers on the third give them a hard time.

"I'm sorry sir, but you can't come in."

"We're Federal Agents," says Gibbs, staring him down, but the officer had already been intimidated by several FBI agents during this hellish day, so he won't back down.

"Sir, right now, half of the people here are Federal Agents, the FBI descended on the place like locusts, they already fought for jurisdiction and won, we don't need another agency stepping in."

McGee loses his patience, and grabs the man by his collar and shakes him, "my sister is somewhere in there."

The man looks down at McGee's hands, and at the desperate eyes of the Agent holding him, "I'm sorry, but I can't let you go through." McGee releases him forcefully, and despite McGee's attitude and Gibbs staring at him with his famous glare, the cop was resolute.

Joy loses her patience and kicks her shoes off and steps on top of the police car, to the chagrin of the angry police officer looking at her.

"What the hell… what do you think you are doing?" He tries to grab her legs, but she ignores him and steps on top of the hood, and starts dialing her phone.

Both McGee and Gibbs just watch her, as she is muttering into her phone.

"Come on, come on, pick up the phone."

"Hey, Faith, it's me, we're already here, but some asshole is not letting us pass."

The officer mutters madly and tries to grab her legs, but she avoids him again.

"Thanks, you're a doll." She disconnects.

"Asshole, I'll show you who is an asshole, you have to learn to respect your superiors, young lady." He tries to grab her again, but she smiles down at him.

"No, you have to learn to not piss off the wrong people." She lifts her eyes, and sees Hope running towards them, and waves at her from the top of the car. Hope waves back, and runs faster.

She looks down, "your ass is grass, buster." She gives each of her hands to McGee and Gibbs respectively, who help her climb down the police car. McGee gives her her shoes back, and she leans against him to step into them.

"Listen, young lady, I'll have you know that…"

"It's Special Agent Buchanan to you, Officer," says Hope coldly, as soon as she's within hearing distance. The officer turns to the mad FBI agent bearing down on him, and says "Listen, miss, I…"

"No, you listen, Officer…" Hope makes a show of reading his tag, "Kowalski, whenever we call specialists to a crime scene, we expect to have them at the crime scene, and we won't have them if some IDIOT DOESN'T LET THEM PASS, DO YOU HEAR ME?"

Officer Kowalski gulps, as the blonde FBI agent, even though she is gorgeous, is extremely mad and seems ready to draw her weapon and shoot him on sight.

"I've asked you a question, officer." She approaches him and stares him down coldly.

"Yes, ma'am."

"So you will let them pass," She says sweetly, her hand on her hip holster, "won't you?"

He gulps again, and steps back, "Sirs, ma'am, you may pass."

Gibbs stares the cop down as he passes through the barricade. McGee doesn't even look at him, as he hurries down towards the building a couple of yards away. Joy simply looks smugly at him, and grabs Hope's arm and they walk hurriedly after McGee.

Hope latches onto McGee's arm, and guides him towards some tents that were mounted to the left of the building. There is an intense movement of rescue workers with wounded or crying students.

It is a scene out of horror movies, or something you expect to see in those vintage scenes from WWII. Everywhere you look you see people lying on the grass, being tended by two or three paramedics. Some seem to be in a more critical state than others, and the paramedics are waiting for the ambulance to arrive so they can be transferred to receive full medical attention. Others seem to have scrapes or minor broken bones. All students are crying.

He looks further to the right, and sees that, unlike the tents on the left, the tents set up on the right don't have that much movement from paramedics. Only crime scene techs are there, bringing body bags and reverently laying them down on the grass, so they may wait for the next empty coroner wagon to take them away.

"Sarah, is she…" he can't even finish the sentence, such is the terror coursing through his veins.

"She's fine," McGee freezes his step, and turns troubled eyes to Hope, "but terrified, we found her twenty minutes ago in an Engineering Lab on the third floor," says Hope, "the shooter killed the majority of the students on the second floor, but besides a professor, no one was harmed on the third."

"I don't understand, what was Sarah doing on the third floor, her classroom is on the second."

Hope fidgets a little, holds his hand and starts dragging him towards a tent further down where they can see Faith talking on the phone, pacing and waving her hands excitedly.

"I don't know exactly how it happened, but it seems that she decided to cut class and dragged Matthew to the third floor for …" she glances briefly back at McGee, "some necking and a petting session, and that ended up saving her life."

"Why?" asks Gibbs, who has been silent until now, studying the movement of the agents and the rescue workers at the scene. Hope opens her mouth to answer, but McGee is looking around, looking for some sign of his sister in the mass of students being tended. Faith turns off her phone and waves at them, and points to someone sitting by her side. She leans down to speak to someone. McGee takes another step and Sarah stands up, and as soon she sees her oldest brother she starts crying.

"SARAH." He abandons all attempts to keep protocol and runs to his sister, who lets the blanket she was wrapped in fall to the ground and runs towards safety, towards her brother, "TIM."

The siblings embrace, and there is no hiding the tears of relief, as for several hours they both almost had the certainty that they would never see each other again.

Gibbs, Joy and Hope and Faith, along with some paramedics and some students, stop to watch the emotional encounter. Many families that day won't be granted the same blessing.

"She was the only survivor from her class," says Hope softly, and Joy and Gibbs stare at the FBI Agent. "The shooter was one student from her class, all her classmates, including her professor, died."

Joy looks at Tim and Sarah, desolated. Tim fell on his knees on the grass and was now lulling his crying sister in his arms, who was trying to hysterically tell him what had happened, between her sobs.

"It's ok Sarah, I've got you, It's ok," he spoke against her hair. She simply stopped trying to talk and hid her face on his chest, and cried.

Faith walks by the two siblings on the grass and goes to stand by her own sisters, and Gibbs. He greets the oldest Buchanan sibling with a nod of the head, and goes straight to the subject that was haunting him the whole drive to DC.

"How many?"

The older FBI agent sighs and looks around, seeing the movement of the CSI teams and paramedics.

"Thirty five killed, twenty nine wounded, of those twenty gravely hurt on their escape by the windows of the second floor." The NCIS agents look up to Wilsburg Hall, and study the drop from the windows to the floor. "They jumped, probably thinking that getting hurt from the fall was a better option than dying in the classroom."

"Any info on the shooter?" Joy is already thinking about a profile for him, and what she was coming up with was bad. Really bad. She is, however, surprised at Faith's reaction to her words.

"No, no no," she shakes her head vehemently, "you are not profiling this guy, I don't want to know that he needed love when he was growing up or just needed a hug so that's why he went mad and shot rooms full of children," she stares into Joy's eyes, and there's deep pain in her eyes, "I just want to know that he's dead, burning in hell, and I want to go home and hug my children, and…" Faith stops, and closes her eyes for a moment.

"I'm sorry," says Joy softly, "I'm so sorry," as she sees how her oldest sister was shaken by this crime. Faith regains her backbone, and looks back at the two siblings. Sarah is slowly stopping her sobbing, and McGee is slowly lulling her, tears rolling down his face without him even noticing, his eyes closed.

Joy notices someone is missing from the picture, and looks around the scene, "where's Matthew?"

Faith and Hope tense immediately, and both Joy and Gibbs look at the FBI agents with wariness.

Faith looks at Joy, and gets her hand in her own, "Joy, that's another thing I have to tell you."

* * *

Reviews are food for my soul.

a/n: Poor Tim, poor Sarah, they were terrified! and things are about to get worst. Much worst.


	10. Levanter

**Levanter**

**_You can measure a man's character by the choices he makes under pressure. – Winston Churchill_**

Joy finds Matthew walking like a caged lion, several tents further down, and a paramedic running after him, trying to clean up his wounds. He has vicious scratch marks on his face and neck, and his left hand is in a bandage. The paramedic tries to insist on cleaning his face, but Matthew turns to him and growls, and the paramedic gives up. _Let them get infected_, he thinks as he walks away.

Matthew glances briefly at Joy, and keeps pacing, almost making a wear and tear path on the grass. He totally furious with Sarah, with himself, with the world. ARGH!

Joy folds her arms, and just watches him for some moments, without speaking, and that gets on his nerves even more.

"What?" he stops and turns to his sister. He approaches her menacingly, and towers over her, in all his Marine glory.

"What? Are you going to blame me too?"

"Are you going to say that's my fault?" he hisses, "that I should have gone there and cracked his skull with my bare hands?"

He's fuming, his fury working like a vicious circle: he's furious with Sarah, who is furious with him, and he's getting even more furious because she's furious.

"WHAT?"

Joy studies her brother's face, and sees the fury dangerously threatening to spill. As always when dealing with his sister Joy, she manages to surprise him, saying something that catches him totally out of left field.

"You need to hit something."

"What?" he laughs, but there's no joy in it, he looks at her as if she lost her mind.

"Where do you get these ideas? Are you mad?"

"No, you need to hit something," he looks at her, incredulous, "why don't you try that tree?"

He looks at the tree trunk behind him, thick and fully covered by moss. He walks towards it, and looks at his sister.

"I just have to hit it?"

"Yep, you will feel better afterwards."

Matt gives it a try, and pours all his frustration into the punch. His hand hurts, but damn, she's right, it feels better. He hits three or four times more, until his whole arm hurts.

He stops and looks at his sister, who is looking at him with compassion in her eyes.

"Feeling better?"

He looks down at his hand, sees the broken skin and light bleeding, and the ache somehow seems to soothe his troubled mind and smiles, "believe it or not, yes."

Joy approaches him and carefully gets his hand in her smaller ones, and studies the broken skin, feeling for any irregularity under it.

"I don't think there are any broken bones, but it is better to have it checked out." He keeps staring at her lowered head. At six foot three, he towered over her by at least one foot and two inches, but undoubtedly her personality filled the room whenever she entered in it, as it happened with their own mother.

"You are not going to give me a dressing down, about how irresponsible I was, and how I should have…"

"Sacrificed your life like a fool, putting yourself and the people under your care in danger, just for the pride of being a martyr?" she interrupts him, and looks him in the eye.

"Are you expecting me to judge you?" she stares at her brother, "Just because you went against your training, and your instincts, and decided to protect at all cost your own life and the life of those who were under your responsibility to protect? Just because you had to hurt someone you love to keep them from harm?"

Matt stares brokenheartedly at his sister, and sees her shaking her head, and tears simmering in her eyes, "Sis, I…"

"I can't judge you, Matt, I've done the same thing before."

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.


	11. Mistral

**Mistral**

_**"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please." Mark Twain.**_

"He locked us up, Tim" Sarah says between sobs.

"It's ok Sarah, it's over." He murmurs against her hair, "he can't hurt you anymore."

"No, it's not ok," she shouts at her brother, and he stops for a moment, "it's not over." She looks at him with red eyes, and hiccups, and it breaks McGee's heart to see her in such a desolate state, "he didn't even try to help them, he just stayed there, hiding and then and then he … he…" she keeps crying, and McGee has to lean over hear her, but he still doesn't understand what she says.

"What Sarah? Sorry, I couldn't hear you."

"He hit me, Tim." She says desolated, as if her world is over.

McGee sees red, as he had no idea that the criminal had also hit the victims, "Thank God he's dead; otherwise I would kill him."

"Matthew is dead?" Sarah asks him, scared, and starts crying even more than before.

"No, no, he's not dead," he looks up at Hope and Faith, who are watching over the two siblings and they shake their heads, "no, he's fine, why would you think he's dead?"

"But you just said he's dead."

"I did?" Now McGee is totally confused, as he's not sure he's talking about the same thing with Sarah.

"Yes."

"No, I said that the guy who hit you was dead."

"But Tim," she shakes her head, "Matthew is the guy who hit me."

Tim stares at Sarah's face for a whole minute, trying to gauge the truth. She sobs and nods, and McGee feels a fury he hadn't felt in a long time boiling up in his chest. He kisses Sarah's head tenderly, stands up with her in his arms, and guides her to Gibbs.

"Stay here," he says, and she looks at him, scared, "Tim?"

McGee doesn't look at Gibbs, but he can feel his steely stare burning him, demanding an explanation. He turns around, and he's confronted by a Buchanan wall blocking his way.

"There must be a logical explanation for this," says Hope, trying to calm him down.

"We don't have all the facts yet," says Faith, but she can see that he's way past angry, he's smoldering with fury, "and Matthew refuses to speak about what happened in there, and all other students were too terrified to give a coherent statement."

McGee looks at the two women, and for the first time in a long time uses his height to intimidate someone, towering over both women menacingly, as he hisses furiously "get out of my way." They look at each other, then back at McGee, who takes a step forward, and they take a step back, "NOW."

"McGee," Gibbs calls out, his arms full of a crying Sarah, "now is not the time."

McGee ignores Gibbs on purpose and walks around the two women, who look at each other and start following him, towards the last tents were Matthew is sitting on a log being finally tended by a paramedic. Joy is standing by his side, observing the paramedic working.

She looks up and sees McGee coming towards them, followed by Faith and Hope with their full blown panic faces on, and in the background further away she sees Gibbs consoling Sarah, who is hugging him and crying on his chest. Their eyes cross briefly, and she sees the worry in them. She looks back at McGee, and sees him in full protective brother mode. The fury emanating from him is like a cloud announcing his incoming presence.

"Matthew," she says in a low voice, and Matthew dispenses the paramedic and stands up, fully prepared to take whatever Sarah's brother might throw at him. Right at that moment, McGee reaches them, and does not even greet Matthew or look at Joy.

He simply punches Matthew in the face with a wicked left hook. Matthew stumbles, but doesn't fall, but he also doesn't raise his hands to defend himself, neither does he give any idea that he will retaliate against McGee.

"Hey," Joy tries to jump in to interfere, but both Hope and Faith catch her by her arms, and drags her out of the fight ring.

"So you like hitting girls, Matthew?" Matthew touches his bruised chin, and looks at McGee without saying a word.

"Why don't you HIT SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE?" McGee shouts at Matthew, and Joy is horrified at what is happening, struggling against the hold of her sisters, who won't let her go.

"Let boys be boys, sis," whispers Hope against her ear.

"They both need a punch bag," whispers Faith against the other ear, "if that releases some endorphins and disperses some tension, even better."

"They are going to kill each other," whispers Joy, as McGee punches Matthew again in his stomach. Again Matthew takes the punch, moans in pain, but doesn't react.

"MCGEE!" Shouts Gibbs.

"TIM!" Shouts Sarah.

Both run towards the fight, and Sarah latches onto Tim as soon she's on arms distance, "stop, please stop, please." McGee turns and hugs his sister, all the time throwing venomous glares at the youngest Buchanan brother.

"Stay away from my sister," he growls, and grabs Sarah by her arm and drags her away from the Buchanan siblings.

Gibbs is astonished at the scene he just saw, and for a moment he doesn't know how to react. He sees his agent, whom he has worked side by side with for seven years, half dragging half carrying his younger sister away from people that, until a few moments ago, he considered as part of his extended family. He turns around, and sees the hurt and pain in all of the Buchanans' faces. Hope and Faith release Joy, who's frozen like a statue, her hands in the air, and her eyes are following the McGees' retreat with deep pain.

He looks then at Matthew, and what he sees before him is devastating. Matthew's eyes are following the McGees leaving, and at every step they take his shoulders hunch even more, and the light fades until there's nothing behind his eyes but desolation.

Right before him, Gibbs sees a young man who just looks like his whole reason to live has been taken away from him. And it is something painful to see, especially in someone so young. He studies the scratches on his face, and he wonders who could have done them to him.

Matthew's eyes turn to his, and Gibbs is astonished at the amount of pain swimming behind his eyes. He shakes his head, totally desolated, and speaks the first and only words Gibbs would hear from Matthew that day.

"I would die for her, sir."

His eyes fill with tears, and he says in a choked voice, "I almost did."

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.

a/n: Oh my goodness, McGee hit Matthew!


	12. Bize

**Bize**

Tony and Ziva arrive back at NCIS headquarters from Norfolk, and bring the evidence to Abby's Lab. They get out of the elevator, and they hear no music coming from her lab. They slowly approach the door, afraid of what they might find.

"Abby?"

They enter the lab, and find her silently crying before the plasma, watching the live coverage from what ZNN is calling the deadliest peacetime massacre in the history of America, surpassing in number of victims the Virginia Tech Massacre.

"Abby…" DiNozzo puts his evidence box on the table and opens his arms, and the Goth runs to him, and gives him a crushing hug.

"Tell me that she's ok, please, please."

"Abby, we don't know yet." Ziva drops her own box of evidence on the table, and moves around the table so she might see the coverage.

"McGee, Gibbs and Buchanan left our crime scene as soon as they heard about it," says Tony.

"Apparently, Matthew was with Sarah at the time of the shooting, and was able to contact the FBI and report the shootout," says Ziva.

Abby lifts her head from Tony's shoulder, "but they are ok, aren't they?"

Ziva and Tony look at each other, and at the Goth, who is barely holding in her tears.

"I'm sorry Abby, we still don't know."

"We have to wait until McGee, Gibbs or Buchanan call us with news."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Regardless of the tragedy that befell DC that morning, they still had a petty officer's death to solve. Both Tony and Ziva come back to the bullpen, and tenaciously start doing a background check on the victim. They turn on the plasma on ZNN, and keep it on mute, watching for any new development in the current story. They tackle the evidence they have furiously.

The sooner they finish their case, the sooner they can focus on their own personal tragedy.

Director Vance comes down from the marble halls of the Director's office, and walks up to DiNozzo's desk.

"DiNozzo, where are Agent Gibbs, McGee and Buchanan?"

DiNozzo looks at the plasma, where they see an aerial shot of Waverly University, and the intense activity of rescue workers and FBI agents on the ground.

"There," he says.

"That's not under our jurisdiction," Director Vance stares down at DiNozzo, who leans his head to the side and answers tensely.

"McGee's sister studies there," Tony says.

Vance studies the intense movement of FBI agents on the screen, and barely manages to imagine the carnage that must be inside those walls.

"Any chance she might be one of the victims?" Director Vance looks first at Ziva, who looks at him, desolated, and shakes her head, then at Dinozzo, who stares at his keyboard as if it holds the ultimate answer to the ultimate question.

"She was..." Vance looks again at Ziva, who pauses uncomfortably before continuing, "unaccounted for, as far as we know."

Vance turns back to the plasma, which now shows several ambulances leaving the campus with the lights off, meaning that the person they are carrying inside is dead.

"Keep me posted," he turns to go back to his office, but the elevator dings, and as soon as the doors open a very tense McGee enters the bullpen, supporting a barely there Sarah, in his arms. Gibbs follows them in.

"McGee."

"Probie."

"Sarah."

McGee approaches the director, "sorry, Director, but I had nowhere to take her but here," she leans her head back against his shoulder, and wipes her eyes like a little child, and the sight moves the father's heart inside Vance's chest.

"You did the right thing, Agent McGee, do you need anything?"

"Just take her to Abby," orders Gibbs, as he approaches them, and he tenderly takes Sarah's chin on his hand, "You remember Abby, Sarah?" She nods, "Good," he takes a step forward, and tenderly takes Sarah in his arms, with little effort, and she immediately throws her arms around Gibbs' neck, and hides her face in his neck.

Gibbs starts marching towards Abby's lab, with McGee following him like a puppy. Gibbs turns to McGee, and points with his head to the phone.

"Call Ducky, tell him to meet us at Abby's Lab."

"Boss, the paramedics have already checked her."

"I know, but I don't trust them, I only trust Ducky," and he looks at McGee, "and I know you also only trust Ducky on this, so let him take a look at her."

McGee nods, goes to his desk and starts dialing the morgue.

Gibbs leaves with Sarah, leaving a dead silence behind in the bullpen.

Tony stands up and goes up to McGee, "Is she ok?" He noticed the glazed look in her eyes, a sure sign of shock, but he did not find any obvious wound or injury on her.

"What is the status of your sister, Agent McGee?" Vance is looking at his young agent, and sees the tension in his shoulders, and worry in his eyes.

McGee looks at Director Vance, then at Ziva and Tony, and waits for the connection to go through to autopsy.

"Physically, there's nothing wrong, besides some scratches," he closes his eyes, "psychologically though…" he sighs, "I don't know."

"Autopsy," says Jimmy on the phone.

"Jimmy, is Ducky there?"

"McGee, you're back, did you find…"

"Yes, Jimmy, my sister is in Abby's lab, can you please ask Ducky to go there? I want him to check her out."

"Sure."

Both men say their goodbyes and disconnect. Tony notices one glaring absence, and Ziva voices a question that has been nagging the back of her mind.

"What about Matthew? Is he ok?"

They are astonished to see a transformation in McGee. He tenses completely, and a mask of fury can be seen on his face. It is very strange to see their mild-mannered resident geek showing such intense negative emotion, and it scares them.

"Unfortunately, not dead," he growls, and leaves the room towards Abby's lab, leaving two agents and a Director confused in his wake.

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.

a/n: Our mild-mannered geek is showing his very dark side...


	13. Chinook

**Chinook**

Ducky enters Abby's Lab, and finds Gibbs and Abby hovering over the McGees who were sitting in chairs side by side in the inner lab.

The door swishes open, and the gentle doctor greets Jethro, and looks at his young patient. Her hair is a mess, her clothes are dusty and rumpled, as if she put them on in a hurry, but what really breaks his heart is the desolation he can see in her eyes. It is a stark difference from the strong confident woman he had met briefly on several occasions.

"Hello, my dear," he leans over her, and studies her face, and sees clear signs of shock.

"She's been checked by the paramedics, besides some bumps and scratches, there's nothing wrong," says McGee.

"I'm cold," says Sarah in a low voice, and immediately McGee gets his coat and puts it on his sister's shoulders, and hugs her to his chest, trying to warm her up.

"Which, unfortunately, is a sign of shock," Ducky starts to examine her eyes, and looks at McGee, "I would like a moment with your sister, if I might."

McGee reluctantly releases his hold on Sarah's shoulders, but leaves his jacket around her. He kisses her forehead, and leaves with Gibbs and Abby, the door to the inner lab closing after them.

Ducky turns to his young charge, and sees her twisting her hands nervously.

"Are you in any pain, were you in any way harmed by the events today?" He takes the jacket off her shoulders, and starts to run his fingers over her ribcage and her arms, looking for any fractures. He finds none.

She shakes her head in the negative, but tears stubbornly gather in her eyes. Ducky sighs, and sits on the chair previously occupied by McGee.

"Sarah, I know you have been through a terrible trauma, but believe me, my dear, it is a blessing that you are alive. With time, you will see that there's no shame in being a survivor…"

"Uhm, what?" she turns confused eyes at him.

Ducky studies her face, and continues, "my guess is that you are presenting classical symptoms of survivor's guilt. It happens frequently to people who had been through some traumatic event," Sarah stares at him, "such as yours. It will take time until you accept the events that occurred, but time heals all wounds. You might feel a little unbalanced for a time, and prone to be scared at the littlest things, but it will pass. I have read that there are people in New York that still panic every time that an airplane flies above Manhattan."

He looks down at her hands, and sees that some nails are broken. He takes them delicately in his own, brings them closer to his eyes, and notices that the ones still there have human skin underneath. He looks at her questioningly, and he sees tears simmering in her eyes.

"He slapped me, and I attacked him," she says softly.

"Dear God, Timothy at no time informed me that you were so close to the lunatic, you must have felt terrified," says Ducky.

"Not the shooter, Matthew." Ducky freezes, unsure if he heard it correctly. He frowns, and she sees that he's doubting her, and continues, between sobs, "he held me down, and didn't let me run out of the room, and _he_ came and started shooting the door of the classroom across the corridor, and I got scared, and I wanted so much to scream, and he didn't let me!" she sobs harder.

Ducky leans back in the chair, still holding her hands in his, and she continues, "he put his hand over my mouth, and pressed me against the floor, and _he_ kept shooting over and over, and I thought I was losing my mind," she hiccups and Ducky feels his heart breaking for her, "I was so scared," she lowers eyes to her hands, "I scratched him in the face, in the neck, as far as I could reach but still he wouldn't let me scream, and then he lifted his hand, and slapped me." She lifts a hand to her cheek, where Ducky now can see a faint imprint of a hand on her face.

Ducky studies Sarah, who starts sobbing uncontrollably. McGee sees his sister crying through the glass walls, and runs to his sister, and kneels before her.

"What's wrong?" he asks her, then turn to Ducky, angrily "What did you do to her?" Ducky isn't surprised by McGee's reaction, as he expected his protectiveness towards his sister. He had almost quit the agency to protect her before, such was his care for her. However, he's surprised the anger in his tone of voice.

"I was so scared, Tim," she sobs, and he gathers her in his arms and lulls her again.

"I'm here, Sarah, I'm here, no one will hurt you, ok?"

He looks at Ducky, who sighs, "I've done nothing to cause her any harm, and as far as I could see no physical harm was done to her."

"Then why she is crying again?" asks Tim, confused. Ducky studies the two McGees, one crying and the other one barely holding on to his anger.

"Did she tell you what happened during the shooting?" He sees a dark cloud of anger descend on McGee, and becomes deeply worried about the future ramifications of this terrible event.

"Yes, and I don't want to talk about it, neither does Sarah." Ducky looks up at Gibbs, who is standing with Abby by the door.

"She will have to talk about it sometime, McGee," says Gibbs.

"But not now," he stands up, and helps his sister up as well, "she doesn't have to be forced to relive that nightmare again so soon," he looks pleadingly at Gibbs, "please, Boss."

Gibbs studies his junior agent, seeing the tension and the anger, still simmering underneath his green eyes. "One day, it's all I can give you, then we talk." He looks at Sarah, then back at McGee. "We ALL talk."

He throws a glance at Ducky, and leaves the lab. Abby approaches Sarah, and offers her Bert. "He always helps me feel better whenever I'm down," she says. Sarah takes the soft toy in her hand, and wipes her face with one of her hands while she uses the other to hug the hippo. It farts, and both McGee and Abby sigh, relieved, when Sarah cracks a small smile at it.

Ducky prescribes some sleeping pills, and Abby and McGee prepare the airbed for Sarah. All of them leave only after she is settled and asleep on Abby's airbed.

"Do you think she will be ok?" Abby looks, worried, from McGee to Ducky and back to McGee. She had noticed that he was particularly tense, and she also noticed the absence of his partner.

"Yes she will," says McGee with conviction, then he looks to Ducky, "thanks Ducky."

"You are welcome," he studies Tim, and he also had noticed the tension in him, "with the medication I gave her, she will sleep for some hours and surely not see the world as such a terrible place. Timothy, I have to ask you, where is our dear Agent Buchanan?"

The tension in McGee's shoulders multiplied tenthousandfold, and the anger emanating from him scared both Ducky and Abby.

"With her brother," he said through clenched teeth.

"And is he Ok?" asks Abby, worried at both Tim and also at Buchanan.

"He's fine," he walks towards the door, "just fine," and leaves the lab. Abby, scared, looks at Ducky, who frowns and follows McGee out of the Lab.

"Timothy."

"Yes, Ducky," he says tensely, without turning to look at the doctor, stubbornly staring at the doors of the elevator that is taking forever to reach the Lab floor.

"May I enquire what is going on?" McGee rolls his eyes at Ducky and keeps staring at the doors of elevator, that is taking forever to arrive.

"I don't know, where do you want me to start?" He turns to Ducky, and starts reciting the events in a very altered voice, "With the lunatic that spent three semesters studying with my sister, side by side, and suddenly decided that he did not wish to graduate so he shot down his whole class? Or with the countless bodies of my sister's friends that she might have to identify later on?" He leans over Ducky, towering, and continues, "Or, better yet, her good-for-nothing boyfriend that hit her while she was terrified for her life?"

"You don't know all the facts, Timothy," says Ducky sadly.

"I don't _need_ to know all facts, I don't _want_ to know all the facts, because what I know is more than enough, and it makes me mad at the entire situation," the elevator doors open, and he enters and starts pressing the bullpen floor button nervously, but Ducky stops the elevator doors with his hands.

"Don't let your anger cloud your judgment, what happened is a tragedy in itself, don't compound the suffering of those involved with your irrational anger," says Ducky.

"Irrational?" says McGee, flabbergasted. "Do you think I'm being irrational? Ducky, _he hit her_, nobody hits Sarah and goes unpunished."

"My dear Timothy, you only have part of the puzzle, don't make any harsh decision you might regret later," says Ducky, "or you might let this affect what you have with Buchanan."

McGee sighs, and looks up to the ceiling, trying in vain to control his fury which is still simmering in his chest.

"Just listen to me," McGee lowers his eyes, "this is a tragedy that, regardless of the events that occurred, will have lasting effects on all involved," McGee is staring at Ducky impatiently, "whether we will let the pain and anger fester into something else, it must be a conscious choice ALL of us will have to make."

Ducky shakes his head, "I agree that your sister must have all support you can give right now to her, but don't forget, Timothy," Ducky leans towards him, "she wasn't the only victim. All the pain and anger she must have felt, Matthew must have felt it too, and it must have been tenfold worse for him, as he had on his shoulders the responsibility of keeping her safe, safe for you."

Ducky let the doors close, and he sees McGee lowering his eyes to the floor in deep thought.

Ducky turns to the Lab door, where Abby is looking at him sadly, "Let us hope that those killed and wounded by that young man's hands are the only true victims of this terrible, terrible day."

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.

a/n: Ducky is simply brillhant sometimes.


	14. Doldrums

**Doldrums**

**Buchanan's Townhouse  
Georgetown  
3:15 pm**

The light filtered through the gap between the thick maroon and red curtains covering the cathedral windows in the Buchanan living room in Georgetown. In it, one could see an ample room with comfortable looking sofas, with colorful throw blankets arranged haphazardly on a side table. The interior decor was a mismatched collection of pieces chosen more for their comfort than for their looks, as they could withstand the passage of time and of eager little sticky fingers from newer generations.

Further down, close to the access door to the kitchen and separated from the living area by an ornate wooden room divider, there was a small bar, in ash wood, and a very big birch wood dining table, surrounded by several chairs, in the same birch wood used on the floors. Back in the living area, a low centerpiece table was between two three seat sofas, one facing the other, and a large ottoman rug covered the birch wood floor. But what really dominated the room was the big fireplace, with its ornate black marble mantelpiece, a reminder of the old days when this house hadn't yet been fitted with electricity, and cold nights sitting by the fire were the center of the family life.

There was also, on the floor right before the fireplace, McGee's bearskin, a silent reminder of past adversities overcome in the most adverse circumstances.

A huge mirror dominated the space above the fireplace, giving the impression of an even bigger area, and over the mantel several pictures of several Buchanan members were displayed.

There was the noise of keys in the door, and the door opens. Joy entered the townhouse, and guided Matthew to the living room. They dropped their coats and jackets carelessly on the sofa, and Matthew dropped his body like a potato sack on the leather sofa beside the fireplace, leaned forward and supported his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his face tiredly with his hands, touching the scratches made by a hysterical Sarah gingerly. He flexes his hurt hand, that Sarah bit in a desperate effort to free herself from his grasp.

"Wanna eat something?" Joy asks Matthew, who doesn't even look up at her to answer.

"No," he closes his eyes, and leans back on the sofa. Joy looks at her watch, it's only three-twenty, and she already feels exhausted. She goes to the fireplace, kneels and silently starts a fire.

Once the fire is roaring, she stands up.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No," he answers sullenly. Joy nods, looking around the room, for anything that might give her an insight of what she could possibly do to help her brother.

She walks out of the room, and comes back with a square plastic box. She sits on the floor and opens it. She starts bringing handfuls of the contents of the box to the centerpiece table, dropping it on top of it.

Matthew opens his eyes, recognizing the sound, and looks at his sister. She turns to him, and offers him one of the pieces from the table. He gets the piece from her hand, and studies it in the half light coming through the gap in the window.

It's a Lego piece.

He looks at her, but she's back to the very hard activity of separating all pieces by color, to later on separate them by size, and so on.

When they were children, and ten year old Joy had just been adopted into the Buchanan Clan, Matthew was only three years old and had gotten as a birthday gift his first set of Lego blocks. At that time, Joy was for some unknown reason mute, and scared of her own shadow. However, slowly she started to open up to her siblings, and one of the first ones that she connected with was Matthew.

The three year old would spend hours playing with his Lego blocks, and he desperately wanted company. He had found a faithful companion in Joy, who would sit down with him for hours on end and simply provide him piece by piece so he could build whatever his imagination could come up with. No words had been necessary, as he had been a very quiet child and he would only stretch his chubby hands to her and she would give him another blue or yellow piece so he could finish his project. And so the hours would fly by.

He shuts his eyes at the memory, and closes his hand in a fist over the Lego piece, trying to silence the deep pain that is threatening to spill in an anger filled shout. He feels a pull on his trouser's leg, and when he opens his eyes, he sees that Joy is offering him another Lego.

He sighs, and slides from the sofa to the floor and sits by her side, and starts putting the Lego pieces together, working side by side with his sister. There is no need for words, as they look at each other and share a teary smile, deep in the remembrance of those long forgotten times filled with childlike innocence.

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.


	15. Whirlwind

**Whirlwind**

**_It's a shame what we've become,_**  
**_When we hurt the ones we love._**  
**_It's a place I can not go,_**  
**_Anymore._**

**_When we collide we lose ourselves._**  
**_When we collide we break in two,_**  
**_And as we push and we shove and we hurt the ones we love,_**  
**_It's a hard mistake._**  
**_When we collide,_**  
**_When we collide_**  
**_We break._**

**_Dishwalla - Collide_**

McGee comes back to the bullpen, after leaving Sarah asleep in Abby's Lab. He sits down at his desk, and he's immediately bombarded by the well intentioned questions from his team-mates.

"How is Sarah?" asks DiNozzo.

"Is she hurt in any way?" asks Ziva, concerned.

McGee looks briefly at Gibbs, who is staring at him. _I bet I surprised you today, Boss_, thinks McGee.

"Traumatized, but not hurt," he looks at his team-mates, "apparently the shooter was from her Creative Writing class," he says, as he logs himself in.

"So," says Ziva, "she knew the shooter."

"Did she by any chance…" DiNozzo starts, but he falters when McGee looks at him, irritated, "you know, see someone being hurt? It must have been hell."

"No, but she heard it."

Gibbs studies his junior agent, and finally says, "McGee, you are dismissed. Go home, stay with your sister, you don't have to stay here today."

"Boss, please, let me work," McGee pleads, "Sarah is asleep in Abby's Lab, and right now here is the safest place I can think of for her."

"Where is Buchanan?" DiNozzo is surprised by the angry glare he receives from McGee, "hey Probie, it's just a question, no need to go all McGodzilla on me."

McGee turns to his computer, and starts typing a search, "she's with her brother, and probably will help the FBI with the cleanup."

"And why would she not return to NCIS? Was Matthew hurt in any way protecting your sister?" Ziva studies the simmering anger in McGee's face, and she's sure there is something else that neither him nor Gibbs are telling them.

McGee keeps typing on his computer, ignoring the question. Gibbs stares at him, and answers, "he wasn't hurt in the shooting, he was hurt afterwards." McGee looks up from his computer and stares at Gibbs, his anger giving him courage to endure the staring match with his boss.

Ziva and Tony look from Gibbs to McGee, back to Gibbs, trying to gauge what they are not telling them.

"He had no right to hit her, Boss," says McGee.

"You don't have all the facts, McGee," says Gibbs.

"Wait a second, Matthew hit Sarah?" asks Ziva.

McGee growls lowly and starts attacking his keyboard with fury, and Tony squints at him, thinking furiously.

"If Matthew hit Sarah," Tony has an eureka moment, "PROBIE HIT MATTHEW" he looks at McGee, "Man, I know you don't want the guy dating your sister, but that's not going to give you brownie points with your girl, hitting her little brother is…"

"SHUT UP TONY," shouts a very altered McGee, standing up. Gibbs stands up, and takes charge of the situation before it gets worse than it already is.

"ENOUGH," shouts Gibbs. "David, DiNozzo, back to your desks, when I get back I want the background check on our dead petty officer, McGee, my office, NOW."

Ziva and Tony run to their desks, and Gibbs leaves his desk and stands before McGee's, silently ordering him to follow him. Both men walk towards the elevator, and wait for the doors to open on their floor.

Gibbs' hand is itching to headslap McGee, but the bullpen is not the place for the kind of dressing-down he's planning. The doors of the elevators open, and the person inside freezes when she sees both men.

It's Buchanan.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After playing with the Lego set until the lingering anger finally abated from Matthew's face, Joy encouraged her little brother to lay down on the floor before the fireplace, on the skin of the dead bear, with his head on her lap, while she played with his hair. The silence is comfortable between the two siblings, as Matthew doesn't feel pressured to explain his actions to his sister, despite the fact that the events of today had definitely put a strain in her relationship with the eldest McGee. He glances at her face, and sees her staring at the fire with a frown, probably trying to figure out a way out of the fine mess that they made for themselves.

"We were so happy this morning." Joy turns troubled eyes down to her brother, who is looking at her face, with a voice full of sorrow.

"We woke up together, and we left for breakfast. She insisted that I should take her to her class, so she could show me off to her friends." Joy gives him a faint smile, as she can imagine Sarah doing it, but does not say a word. She's afraid he will stop talking if she interrupts him.

"She wanted to…" he looks at her and smiles, and Joy smiles back, "so we left her class to go to the third floor. I …" he frowns for a moment, "I almost didn't agree. We stayed there for some minutes, until the first shots were heard." He sits down, and stares at the fire.

"My very first thought was where I could find anything to use as a weapon, and the very next was where I could hide Sarah to keep her from harm." He shakes his head, desolated, "if I had left her run, if I had let her scream, I'm not sure if we would be here now."

Joy looks back at the fire, and a faint smile can be seen in her lips, "damn, dad is right."

"Why?"

"_Neither innocence nor vigilance may be protection against the howling heart of evil_," she quotes.

Matthew searches his brain, trying to find the source of the quotation, "Star Trek?"

"No," she smiles, "X-Files."

"Uhm."

"The Calusari episode, second season."

"Never been a TV series nut ball like you and Dad."

Joy snickers, "well, we had to have something else to talk about, besides Hope's crazy stunts."

They laugh softly, and then Joy continues, "what I mean is that, no matter what you have tried to do, you will never be sure if the outcome would be different, or if the number of the victims would be lessened. You have no way of knowing, but you did your best under the most stressful circumstances, and you succeeded, you kept them alive, which was your main priority. Regarding Sarah, she's very young and there's still much she has yet to learn, about choices and responsibility, and the burden such responsibility may be to those who carry it. She will come around it."

"She will," says Matt, doubtful.

"Sometime, she will."

Both siblings turn their eyes to the fire, and Matt says softly, "I told her I love her today."

Joy turns to her brother, "and do you?"

"Do you doubt me?"

"Did you say I love you in a crisis moment, in a quiet moment or right before/during/after sex?" she says smiling smartly at him, and he blushes brightly, which brings howling laughter from Joy. "Ah Matt," she says, and he hits her in the arm.

"But I was being sincere," he says sullenly, folding his arms and pouting like a baby.

"I'm not questioning your sincerity; I'm questioning your motives for saying that." He looks sullenly at her, "it is one thing to say it during hot steamy moments, but it is completely different saying it with no distractions, no pressure, nothing to take away the importance of it. Real love is not the crazy sweeping passion that takes you in a whirlwind of ups and downs, but it is a conscious choice that both of you have to make that, despite both your shortcomings and your idiosyncrasies, you are part of her and she is part of you, a silent promise you will still be there for each other no matter what happens. That's why the marriage vows say to have and to hold, for better and for worse."

She takes his left hand in hers, and studies the bandages on it, from Sarah's bites and also from him punching the tree earlier on, "you two had been granted with a second chance in life, a new beginning. You had been touched by God's hand and shown how His divine Providence is powerful to take care of the littlest details." Matthew is looking at his older sister's eyes who, despite having worked in civilian law enforcement for years, had seen more horrors than many of his Marine colleagues, "what you two will do with this new lease on life, it is up to you. You will have two choices ahead: if you will become stronger and tighter together, or if you will drift apart, the shadow of your relationship nothing more than that, a memory."

They hear the house door opening, and after some seconds a very dishevelled Hope entered the living room, "Hey, folks," she kicks her low court shoes off her tired feet, and drops tiredly on the sofa, covering her eyes with her pale arms, "please tell me the day is over."

Both siblings by the fire look as each other and smile, and Joy says, "sorry sis, not over yet."

Hope takes her arm away and turns so she may look at them, "Joy, Faith wants you at the Hoover building, I'm on babysitting duty until further orders."

"I don't need a babysitter," says Matthew.

"Sorry, little brother, FBI business," she leaves the sofa and takes Joy's hand and pulls her so she may stand, "until this matter is settled, and all statements are collected, all survivors will have a FBI shadow until we are sure there's no threat to National Security, and stuff. You know how it is." She gives her sister a kiss on the cheek, "go, there's much to do and so little time."

Joy smiles at her sister and leaves.

Once in the Hoover building, she was immediately taken to AD Whittaker. She nods solemnly at the AD, and looks at her sister who is frowning at a report on her hands.

"Assistant Director Whittaker, Agent Buchanan," she salutes, and he silently requests her to sit.

They inform her that, because of the high numbers of victims, their labs are overflowing with evidence, and their morgues had reached critical capacity. So they might need to use NCIS facilities.

"Don't get me wrong," says AD Whittaker, "we do have the professionals needed for the service, what we need is the necessary equipped facilities."

"So you want me to talk to Director Vance about lending a hand to sort out through the evidence."

"Our main concern would be the bodies," says Faith, looking up from her report, "we still have some yet to be identified, and we need the necessary facilities to do that ASAP."

"The director of the FBI has already contacted SecNav, and I'm sure he will also contact the director of NCIS to inform him of the situation, but we would appreciate if you emphasized the dire need we are in right now."

"Certainly AD Whittaker," Joy throws a glance at her sister, and stands up, "may I take my leave?"

"Dismissed," he says.

Both Buchanans leave the room, closing the door after themselves, and Joy sighs, desolated, at her sister, "how many are you sending over?"

They start walking down the corridor, towards Faith's office, "I don't know, everything else is on hold until we sort out this fine mess. The city morgue is normally beyond its capacity, they can't take the incoming bodies and keep the chain of evidence intact at the same time, and we just received presidential orders to give a detailed report on the shooting in forty eight hours. They don't want a repeat of the media circus we had" she looks around at the people walking and lowers her voice, approaching her sister, "they don't want the media circus we had with VAT, they want to show that we are working hard and fast to find answers."

Joy rolls her eyes, "It is all about saving face, not about the victims," she shakes her head desolated, "sometimes I hate the politics that come with the job."

"If you swim in the ocean, you have to learn how to deal with sharks," Faith opens a glass door, and both sisters enter the office.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The elevator in NCIS dinged, the doors opening on the bullpen floor. Joy looked up and froze when she saw Gibbs and McGee standing there. She looks at Gibbs, who has an unreadable expression on his face, staring at her, checking her status. She nods at him, and she can hear her heart cracking and the pieces falling slowly to the floor, at the look of barely restrained anger McGee throws towards her.

"Ah, hi…" the doors start closing again, and both her and McGee put out a hand to stop them from closing.

"How is Sarah?"

"She's fine, just fine." She nods, and walks between the two men, to go towards the Director's office, and hears his mumbled words, "as if you cared."

Joy freezes, and turns to him. For a moment she's torn between pain and anger, and she says, in a loud and clear voice, "I've always cared, McGee, but there are other things that needed my attention."

"Sure, like your marine little brother, with a penchant to hit…"

_Slap._

Joy is horrified at what she has done and McGee is frozen on the spot, looking at her unbelieving that she dared to slap him.

"ENOUGH" roars Gibbs, and headslaps both of them hard. "MCGEE, MY OFFICE, NOW."

McGee turns his back to Joy, whose eyes have started to mist at his betrayed expression. He enters the elevator, not looking back. Gibbs looks at Joy, who closed her eyes and was faintly shaking. He approaches her, she turns deeply hurt eyes to him, and he says, "that would never have happened if you followed number 12."

Her pain turns to anger, and she growls to Gibbs, "Damnit, Gibbs, now is not the time for gloating. He's an investigator, tell him to _investigate_," she grabs a folder from her backpack, and thrusts it in Gibbs' hand. Gibbs looks down at it for a second, and he can feel his eyebrows rising to his hairline.

"What's this?"

"Facts, Gibbs, cold and hard facts," she turns and walks down the corridor, pausing briefly at Ziva's desk to open her backpack yet again, she grabs some folders in the FBI standard cover, and leaves her backpack for Ziva, "could you please leave it at my desk?" she then marches up the stairs, sending a furious glance towards Gibbs on her way up. Director Vance is at the top of the stairs, looking down at the scene in his bullpen. Gibbs sends a glare at the Director, who just stretches out his hand for the folders that Joy brought from the FBI, and walks into the MTAC, followed by his agent.

Gibbs looks at the folder in his hands, and goes back to the elevator, the doors open, McGee is sullenly waiting for him inside. He hits his hand on the buttons, and the door closes after him.

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.

a/n: I bet you guys weren't expecting this. Oh, how I wish I was little fly on the wall of that elevator...


	16. Fohn

**Fohn**

Inside MTAC, Director Vance and Buchanan were waiting for the incoming call from the SecNav. While the tech prepared the equipment, the Director turned to his profiler, and saw her staring at the MTAC screen with a worried expression on her face.

"Care to explain what happened in my bullpen, Agent Buchanan," he wants to know.

"I don't have the foggiest idea sir." Vance hears astonishment in her voice, "one moment we were talking, the next my hand had already gotten ahead and…" she frowns, "I had no intention of hitting him, believe me."

He studies her face for a moment, and sees that she's as shocked at her own actions as anyone else.

"Will I have to formally reprimand you and McGee?"

"No sir," she straightens her back as the video conference starts, "it won't happen again."

SecNav live link came up on the screen, and both NCIS agents turned to him.

"Director Vance, I believe you have already received the formal request from the FBI to use your facilities," says SecNav.

"Yes, indeed. NCIS will gladly offer any assistance necessary during this time of need, sir."

SecNav looks at the other agent, "Agent Buchanan, I presume."

"Yes, Sir."

"I've heard a lot about you."

Joy smirked, "You may ignore all the good things anyone might have said about me, sir," Vance turns to his agent, and she smiles at him, "whatever they've said, they've lied."

SecNav smiles at her, "I see you have your mother's warped sense of humor." He becomes serious again, "I was informed that you visited the site. What could you tell us about the situation in Waverly?"

Joy turns serious as well, and starts her report:

"Initial witness statements report shots being fired at the Willmington dormitory, approximately 6h40 am. Metro Police arrived approximately twelve minutes later, found three dead, no shooter. They stayed at the crime scene until eight, when the bodies were taken away and the building returned to their residents. Video surveillance from the building was taken to be analyzed by the PD. At exactly 9:04 am another phone call was made to 911, now reporting shots being fired across campus, in Hilsburg Hall, where the shooter proceeded to visit all classes with students on the second floor, and leave a trail of death in his wake."

"How many victims?" asks Vance, and Buchanan blinks, trying to dispel the image of the carnage from her mind.

"Six faculty staff, twenty nine students, thirty five dead in total. Plus twenty nine wounded."

Both the Director and SecNav stay in silence for a moment, considering the ramifications of this tragedy.

Buchanan continues her report, "fortunately, we found four classes where people were able to lock themselves up and barricade the doors, impeding the shooter's access to the people within, or because he simply did not visit them. Two of those are on the first floor, room 103 and 106, both with a total of 42 in total. We also have room 207, where a professor with the help of her nineteen students was able to move a huge bookshelf, effectively blocking the door and saving everyone's lives inside. He shot at the door, but the bullets were stopped by the thick volumes on the bookcase. And finally, we have the students from room 305."

"What happened to those in room 305?"

Joy runs a shaking hand through her curly hair, and sighs, "apparently, professor Chewbowski, as soon as he heard the first shots being fired, relocated all his students from room 305 to room 309, just down the hall, because 305 had only one lock, while 309, as it was an Engineering Lab with expensive equipment inside, had two locks and a bolt on the door, just to avoid theft. As soon as he relocated the students, he heard a door opening on his floor, and he opened his own to investigate, as there should have been no one on his floor but his class. He found two other people in the corridor, going to the stairs. He invited them in, ordered the young man to lock the door after himself and barricade the door, and left to investigate the origin of the shots downstairs."

Joy bites her lower lip, and glances briefly with pained eyes to Director Vance, before continuing, "he was shot down shortly thereafter."

"How did the students in room 309 protect themselves?" Director Vance asks, and he sees his agent sending a troubled glance at him, "it is of my understanding that he did go to the third floor looking for victims, did he find them hiding? How come no harm came to those in 309?"

"The young man he found in the corridor with one of the students was a Marine, he barricaded the door with all equipment he and other students could move, and whatever they did not use as barricades he used as trenches where he hid all students behind. If the barricade failed, the trenches would be between any shots fired and the students," she sighs, "if the trenches also failed, he ordered the men to lay on top of the girls, and protect them with their own bodies if necessary."

"Good thinking," says SecNav.

"It didn't come to that, as the shooter went straight to 305, and as he did not find anyone there, he left the floor. He never found out that they were hiding in another room."

"Thank God for small mercies," SecNav says frowning, "I understand the FBI have presidential orders to provide a detailed report on the shooting, and we are willing to offer all support needed, but we won't set our own set of cases aside, nor can we offer personnel for them."

"That's not going to be a problem, as the FBI is sending their own techs over, they just need the physical space as well the equipment, as their labs are already working over their capacity, and the deadline kind of puts a strain on all involved."

"Agreed," SecNav turns to Director Vance, "keep me posted, Director Vance," he signs to someone out of picture, and the image is cut.

"Miss Sciutto doesn't like sharing her things and her lab with anyone," says Vance, turning to Buchanan.

Joy smirks, "believe me sir, she will have no qualms about working with the agent they are sending over."

They start walking towards the exit, but Director Vance stops, and Joy stops as well, "How is your brother, Agent Buchanan?"

Joy looks around the MTAC, and her eyes land on the MTAC techs signing off the machines behind the director. Vance turns around, and they feel his burning gaze on their backs.

"Leave," he orders, and they hurry out of the room.

He turns to his agent, and he sees her biting her lower lip, with her folded arms tightly around herself, trying to keep from crying.

"Agent Buchanan?"

"He woke up this morning a rich man, now he feels like a pauper."

"Elaborate on that."

"Sir," Buchanan approaches Director Vance, "Matthew is, first and foremost, a Marine. His first instinct in such situation is to assess the risks, study possible outcomes and protect as many civilians as possible," she shakes her head, "regardless of the civilian's intentions."

"He was the marine who barricaded the door at 309," says Vance.

"Yes sir," she looks at the screen, "but I didn't give SecNav the whole story." Vance frowns at this revelation.

"Explain yourself."

"He didn't find them due to a simple fluke of destiny," she stares at Vance, "he came to the third floor, and he shot at the door of 305, which was locked. The shots scared Sarah, who…" she sighs, "well, sir, she tried to scream, terrified."

"But she didn't," says Vance.

"No, because Matthew shut her up with his hand, and when that wasn't enough to keep her quiet, he…" Joy looks Vance in the eye, "he hit her."

Director Vance struggles to not show his surprise, "And that's why Agent McGee is pissed at you."

Joy smiles at the Director's choice of words, "that's why McGee's pissed at all things Buchanan." She shakes her head, "when he found out that, he didn't even blink, he advanced against Matthew and punched him, and ordered Matthew to keep his distance from Sarah."

"Did you try talking to him?" says Vance.

"Please, he hasn't been able to withstand my presence within fifteen feet from him, he won't be willing to listen what I have to say," says Buchanan, frustrated.

"Are you going to be able to keep on working on the team despite the current animosity between you two?"

Joy smirks, "sure, don't worry, we will work things out," she says, "after all, if there's one thing we Buchanans have in abundance, it's stubbornness, and he will hear me out," she starts leaving the MTAC, and Vance could swear he heard her muttering, "even if I have to duct tape him to his chair for it."

* * *

Reviews are food for my soul.


	17. Harmattan

**Harmattan**

At the same time Buchanan went into MTAC with Director Vance, Gibbs closed the door after himself in the elevator. As soon as it started to move, he hit the emergency brakes, and glared at his junior agent. McGee still had a sullen expression on his face, and his left hand touched his cheek where Gibbs could see the faint imprint of Joy's fingers on the skin.

Both men keep staring at each other for a whole minute, Gibbs studying the non abating anger he could see and feel still simmering in McGee, and McGee watching Gibbs watch him with his famous glare.

Gibbs decides talking first, more headslaps later.

"What is going on here Tim?"

Tim stays sullenly quiet.

"Lose the attitude, and answer me."

More silence.

"I have turned a blind eye to you two breaking rule twelve, because you two always kept things professional at work, and I hadn't seen anything that might affect the job we do, but this I cannot abide."

"Boss, nobody hurts Sarah."

"He was trying to keep her safe."

"My whole life I've protected Sarah, Boss," McGee looks at Gibbs, trying to transmit the importance of his convictions to him, "nobody hurts Sarah, not on my watch."

"You can't protect her forever, McGee," says Gibbs sadly, "the events of today proved that."

"But I can try."

"You're not helping her with this attitude."

"Boss…" moans McGee.

"You've protected her from what?" McGee prowls in the elevator like a caged animal, and Gibbs squints his eyes, as a thought strikes him suddenly, "Protected her from who?"

He hits a nerve, as McGee freezes, and Gibbs goes for the kill, "Who have you protected Sarah from, that gave you this sick urge to keep everyone and everything at arm's length if they represented any danger to her?"

McGee turns to Gibbs, and stays silent. Gibbs could almost swear that he could hear his teeth grinding against each other.

"McGee," growls Gibbs, "don't make me give you another slap, and the next one won't be on the head." McGee looks, tortured, at Gibbs, and sighs in a defeated way.

"She is all the family I have left, Boss." He starts softly. "For years, it was just Sarah and I, since mom…" He stops and lowers his head, shaking his head to dispel whatever memories in his head.

Gibbs ransacks his brain, after the little info he has on McGee's family from his employee record, "your mom died before you joined my team," McGee nods.

"Where was Sarah then?"

"Full board preparatory school, until she was accepted at Waverly and moved into the residence hall. That's why I live close to her campus, so I can check on her whenever I can."

"But why this insane anxiety to protect her?" insists Gibbs, and he can clearly see McGee struggling to keep his mouth shut. He glares at McGee, and feels his hand itching to hit him again. Hard.

"I promised, Boss."

"Promised what?"

"I promised to protect Sarah, Boss."

"To whom?" McGee clams up again, and Gibbs can see the torment behind the green orbs, begging him to stop questioning him. But Gibbs can't back off now, he needs to find the truth, before his team, his honorary family, fractures under untold secrets and hurt feelings.

"To whom did you promise that you would protect Sarah, Tim."

"I promised mom," McGee says through clenched teeth, and closes his eyes to keep the tears of pain from rolling down his face, "before she…"

Gibbs looks at his junior agent, and sees his torment at revealing such private detail of his life, that he kept hidden for so long, to his Boss and mentor, "before she died, she made me promise her that I would keep her safe, no matter what."

"Where is your father in this picture?" asks Gibbs, and he's surprised with the bitterness in McGee's tone when he answers him.

"Probably taking care of his other family, which he started while he was still with mom," says McGee tensely, his hands in tight fists, "mom had to face the shame of meeting his lover and his bastard child, and to make things worse, she tried to lord over mom as if SHE was the only woman in Dad's life," McGee is shaking in rage, "somehow, she put into dad's head that mom wasn't capable of taking care of us properly, and when the divorce finally came, she insisted in a bitter custody battle for custody of us, which put mom under terrible strain."

McGee turns troubled eyes to Gibbs, who is astonished at the deep pain his younger agent has been hiding from him all these years, but still, he always made clear that his door was open, but he couldn't remember a single time that McGee took that offer to heart.

"I went to MIT shortly after the divorce, leaving mom alone with Sarah. Before mom died, she organized all the papers to ensure I would have custody of Sarah in case she …" McGee wipes his eyes, and he's surprised to find his hands wet, as he hadn't noticed he was crying, "in case she left us. But still, after she passed away, dad and his… his… parasite tried to take Sarah away from me."

"I spent most of my first year salary at NCIS paying lawyers to fight him in court."

_Slap_. The itch had been too much to ignore. McGee turns hurt eyes to Gibbs, who stares at his younger agent angrily.

"Why didn't you come to _me_?" Gibbs almost growls the words, as he remembers the shabby clothes and cheap shoes his younger agent wore during his first year in his team. He would have dwelt with this worthless father in less of a minute.

"I didn't know you then, Boss," McGee urges him to understand, "when I joined the team, I had just been granted custody of Sarah for a few months, and three years later she was already a freshman at Waverly."

Both men stare each other for a moment. The tension in the elevator is palpable, until Gibbs takes a step back, and stretches out his hand. McGee looks down, and sees a FBI folder in Gibbs' hand. He looks up confused at Gibbs.

"What's this?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

McGee lifts his hand to get the folder from Gibbs' hand, but he looks at Gibbs with confusion in his eyes when Gibbs doesn't let go.

"Are you ready to face the facts, no sentiments and anger, just facts, McGee?"

McGee gulps, and stares at the folder in their hands, in it the cold hard truth of what happened that morning. He feels torn between the so comfortable and righteous anger he had been holding on to the whole day, and the deep unsatisfied desire to know what the true facts were.

"Boss, I…"

"Whatever your decision is, be sure that regardless of what you think happened, sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same."

Gibbs lets go of the folder, and disengages the brakes. The doors open, and he moves out of the elevator, "Come on, you have a lot of reading to do."

* * *

Reviews are food for my soul.


	18. Santa Ana

**Santa Ana**

When Buchanan came downstairs from her interview with SecNav and the Director, the team was working furiously on their own case. Gibbs looks up from his screen as she comes down the stairs, and notices a worried expression on her face as she approaches the team's desks.

She looks at her team-mates, who just glance at her briefly before going back to their own computers, and McGee doesn't look up from the folder he has his nose deeply buried in.

She sighs, and goes to stand before Gibbs' desk. "Boss, I'm free to return to our case."

"Isn't the FBI going to need you to act as liaison anymore?" She sighs, tiredly.

"No, now that there is an understanding between the two directors, there's really nothing I can do, as they already have a whole set of their own profilers working on the scene, no need of me."

"What did the FBI director want from Vance?" Buchanan looks tiredly at Gibbs, "you don't have to tell me, if that's a secret."

"No, it's not a secret, they needed our facilities, as they are drowning in evidence. Basically, they are borrowing Abby's Lab and Ducky's morgue just to help with part of the overflow. They are also sending their own techs to help process the evidence and the corpses."

"Abby doesn't like anyone interfering with her babies," says Ziva, looking up from her computer.

Joy smiles, "Believe me, Abby won't have any problems working with the tech they are sending over."

"How can you be so sure?" says DiNozzo. "The last time she had an assistant, the guy tried to frame me for murder," he pouts.

"I personally vouched for the person, Abby must be satisfied with that," says Buchanan.

"Who would this amazing person be?" says Gibbs, his voice full of irony.

"Me," says a soft voice, and the team turns to the corridor. There, dressed in simple jeans and a pink sweater of soft cashmere, covered with a white calico jacket, was Temperance Buchanan. Beside her, another FBI agent in a sharp suit, with a visitor badge hanging from his pocket, smiles broadly and strides towards Buchanan.

"Hello, I'm Special Agent Isaac Slate and this is my assistant," Joy glances at Temperance, who looks at the agent who is so full of himself and rolls her eyes at his big head, "we're from the tech support, we were ordered to report to Agent Gibbs before being sent to your Labs."

"I'm Agent Gibbs," says Gibbs, standing up from his chair, and he glances briefly at Temperance, who is struggling to hold a big box full of evidence in her arms. He sees McGee standing up from his chair as well, and Buchanan, who squints her eyes at her sister's struggle with the box, looks at the agent with a cunning expression.

The oblivious man stretches out his hand to Gibbs, "it's a pleasure to work with you sir, as this will be a great opportunity to bring our agencies together." Gibbs doesn't shake hands with him, and he retracts his hand.

"Indeed," mutters Gibbs.

McGee approaches Temperance, and gets the box from her hands, receiving a relieved glance from her.

"Who is she?" ask Gibbs, just testing the agent, and he starts to feel fury coursing through his body as he sees him barely giving a glance at her, "just a lab tech, as I was saying, I always wanted to see the internal workings of NCIS, as it was my second choice, if I hadn't chosen the FBI."

"We're overflowing with _joy_ that you chose the FBI rather than NCIS, aren't we, Temperance?" says Buchanan, who is now smirking like a shark at the agent. He turns and looks at the short agent standing beside the lab tech, and can't figure out why she looks as if she wants to kill him.

"Sure we are, Joy," says Temp cheekily.

"I don't understand, do you know each other?" he looks, confused, from one woman to the other, and gulps when the short brunette advances on him in fury.

"Let me give you a piece of friendly advice, that I hope will follow you throughout your career in the FBI, regardless of how short it might be, don't ever EVER mistreat a lab tech, because your life, your case and your job depends on the work they do."

He gulps, and opens his mouth to reply, but Buchanan is not done yet.

"Let me put it in simple terms, so you may understand, without them, you have no case. So please step off your mighty pedestal and start treating them as human beings, not as lowly servants."

She walks to McGee and gets the box from his hands and walks to the gaping agent, and shoves the evidence box on his hands, "another piece of advice that you might take heed of, if you ever EVER disrespect my sister again, I will deck you so hard, that they won't ever be able to find your head, so far away it will be shoved up your ass."

"Your sister?" he asks astonished, looking from one woman to the other, and seeing no physical resemblance between them.

She releases the box, and steps back, and agent Slate struggles not to drop the heavy box.

At that time, Jimmy comes up to the agents' desks bringing a folder to agent Gibbs, and freezes as soon as he sees the standoff.

"Oh, I…" he mutters.

"Jimmy!" exclaims Temp, and Jimmy smiles broadly as he sees the youngest Buchanan.

"Hey, Temp, what are you doing here?" Joy squints her eyes at Jimmy, who gulps when he sees her glare directed at him, "not that it is my business anyway…"

"Jimmy," growls Buchanan.

"Yes Agent Buchanan," she smiles sweetly at Slate, who is looking at the agents as if they are crazy, "please lead Agent Slate to Abby's Lab, he's one of the two temps who will help with the evidence of the shooting today."

"Oh, I…" he shows the folder, hands it to her, and hurries towards the elevators. After she growls at the agent, he hurries after Jimmy. She isn't done yet.

"Hey, Slate," he freezes, "be sure not to piss off NCIS Lab tech, as I might only deck you; she will kill you without leaving forensic evidence."

Jimmy smiles at that, and turns to the scared agent, "that's true, that's something that she always says to everyone she meets."

"You are all crazy," Slate says, as the doors of the elevator close.

As soon as they are out of hearing distance, Temperance mutters a quiet thanks to her sister, but Joy is incensed.

"Is this an isolated incident or the kind of general treatment they are giving you at Quantico?" Temperance lowers her head to her chest and shrugs, and Joy gets angrier, "why didn't you come to me, or Faith or Hope, or have the dickhead reported?"

"For what? I'm not a field agent, I've made my choice to become a lab tech, just because I don't carry a gun they usually…"

"It doesn't matter if you don't carry a gun, it doesn't take away the merit of the job you do. These types of agents have to be shown that your job is as important as theirs, as they just collect the evidence while you give meaning to it," Joy pauses, and Temp lifts her head and looks at her sister, chagrined, "lab techs have to be bribed, pampered and catered for, not used as … as…" she struggles with the definition, then smiles when she says, "glorified house elves."

Temp smiles, "so I have to be pampered like Abby with her CaffPows," Joy opens her arms, and Temp hugs her firmly.

"Don't ever accept anything less than that," murmurs Joy against her hair. She glances at Tim, who is looking at the two sisters hugging with something akin to pain in his eyes. She lets Temperance go, and Temp takes a step back, and turns to McGee.

"Oh Tim," she walks up to him and hugs him tightly. After a moment of hesitation on his part, he returns the hug. "I was so worried about Sarah, and I was so glad when Faith told me that Matt was there and kept her safe," she feels him becoming tense, and takes a step back, to look him in the face. Whatever she sees in it, she doesn't like it.

"What's wrong?" She looks at Joy, and sees her looking at McGee with a stone mask. She leaves his arms, and looks at McGee again, "What's going on?"

Both McGee and Buchanan refuse to look at Temperance, and she starts to feel the famous Buchanan temper boiling, "you are fighting, aren't you?" She receives no answers from both agents, and she lashes out.

"No, no, no, this can't be happening, things are way too bad for you to start bickering about non important things," says Temp.

"Temp, you don't know…" says McGee.

"Temp, you have no idea…" says Joy.

"I don't have to know, and I don't care," she says incensed, "whatever it is, FIX IT."

She turns to Joy, "Dad can't fly in right now, because mom is stuck inside Cheyenne Mountain, some kind of lockdown on the base, so he has to wait until the latest crisis is over until he comes over, so you better fix it before they arrive."

"What's she doing in NORAD? she promised she wouldn't … oh please tell me she's not testing their weapons again," moans Joy.

"I don't know, I don't care, she never promised not to return to the Mountain, she would just avoid it, but you know her, but that's not about mom, it's about you guys,"

She turns to McGee, "whatever it is that's going through your pretty little head, you'd better sort it out. Just because you are tall and an agent with a big gun, it doesn't mean that Dad won't deck you until you finally come to your senses."

"He's not my father, he can't hit me," says McGee.

She shakes her head at McGee's ignorance, "no, he's not your biological father, but he's your _honorary_ father. He considers you family, and that entitles him to, if necessary, knock some sense into you, if you don't get your head screwed straight."

She turns to Joy, and orders, "Fix it, whatever it is."

Having said her word, she turns to the other agents, who were watching the interaction with a smile in their eyes, "Agent DiNozzo."

"Yes, Agent Buchanan," he smiles, charmingly.

She flutters her eyes at him, "Just call me Temp, would you kindly guide me to Miss Sciutto's Lab?"

He smiles at her, and walks to her side, "Certainly," and starts guiding the youngest Buchanan to the elevators.

Before she leaves, though, she frowns at both her sister and at McGee, and repeats forcefully, "Fix it, Joy," and follows Agent DiNozzo, leaving both McGee and Joy frozen with astonished faces in her wake.

Gibbs smirks at their astonished faces, and Ziva can barely hold her mirth, as she´s laughing too much.

"Your father wouldn't deck me," says softly McGee, "would he?"

Joy slowly turns to him, still astonished, and says, "he might, but my brothers would probably call dibs." McGee gulps. "But then, there's also my mother, who is the scariest of them all." They look at each other for a second.

"You are aware that we were just called on the carpet by my twenty two year old sister." Mutters Buchanan.

"Yeah," McGee thinks for a moment, then, "she sounded remarkably like your mother."

They look at each other, and for a brief second they smile at each other, "you can't deny the Buchanan genes."

Their smiles fade, and they stay staring at each other for some seconds. Buchanan takes a deep breath, and decides to take the first step.

"I'm sorry…" she says.

"Don't apologize, it's a sign of…" McGee starts, but she interrupts him.

"That's bullshit, and you know that." McGee glances briefly at Gibbs, who has his hands folded just watching the show, "You've always known my opinion about that silly rule."

"What I did was wrong. I violated your trust, I opened up old wounds, I did not respect your wishes. I hit where I knew it would hurt the most, and that was petty, childish and immature on my part. And if because of that, you've decided that we're not going to keep on seeing each other,"she looks up into his eyes, and bites her lower lip, and continues, "I just want you to know that I'm very," she sighs deeply, and says as sincerely as possible, "I'm very, very sorry."

Her emotional speech touches something deeply in McGee, cracking his resolve to hold on to his anger a little. She glances at Gibbs, "I'm going to check if the FBI M.E. arrived to help Ducky with the new corpses, then I'm coming back to work on your profile, Boss." She starts walking towards the elevators, and McGee calls out to her.

"I'm reading it." Joy freezes, and turns to him, who lifts the FBI folder with the preliminary reports on the shootings so she can see it.

"It's an interesting read," she says.

"Yeah," he agrees, completely serious, "mesmerizing." They stare at each other for another minute, until Joy turns and goes to the elevators, leaving him there in the bullpen staring at the folder in his hands. He sits down slowly, and stares at his computer screen with a frown. He feels Gibbs' hot stare on him, then turns to look at him.

"McGee?" there is a question in his tone.

"My search on the dead petty officer's phone and bank records is not finished yet, Boss," he types something on his computer, and goes back to his reading of the file.

Gibbs smirks, as he sees him reading the file with all his attention, as if it was a complicated computer program in which he has to fix the bugs.

_He might take a while, __but his Elflord will figure out things on his own_, he thinks.

Or so he hopes.

* * *

Reviews make me happy...


	19. Breeze

**Breeze**

Buchanan got out of the elevator at the morgue floor, and took a deep breath before entering the sealed doors of Ducky's domain. When she entered, she saw that instead of the customary three stainless steel autopsy tables, they had five, all of them with body bags on them.

Besides Ducky and Jimmy, another man in medical scrubs is looking at the body currently open on the furthest table in the morgue.

"Ducky?"

"Oh, hello Agent Buchanan, it's a pleasure to see you well," he leaves Jimmy and the other M.E., and approaches her by the door.

"How are you my dear?"

She smiles thinly, "I'm better off than them," pointing to the dead students on the tables.

"Indeed," he turns to Jimmy, "I'll be back in ten minutes," and leads Buchanan out of autopsy by her arm. Once the door slide closed, the M.E. turns to study the agent, and he's not happy to see the unhappiness on her face.

"How is the M.E. the FBI sent to help you?"

"Efficient, not very talkative," he shrugs, "I believe I surprised him when I started talking to the bodies." Joy smiles thinly at Ducky.

"How is Matthew?"

"He's had better days," she rolls her shoulders, trying to dispel some of the weight on her shoulders, "what about Sarah?"

"Sleeping the sleep of the innocent, I had to medicate her to calm her down, but, there are no visible physical injuries that I could verify in my exam."

"Thank God." Joy sighs relieved.

"My dear," Joy lifts troubled eyes to Ducky, "why is our Timothy being so…" he tries to find the appropriate word, but for the first time in several years his gift for words fails him.

"Bull-headed? Stubborn? Obstinate? I could add obnoxious and uncompromising, pigheaded, mulish and headstrong to my list of adjectives to describe him." She says, exasperated, and Ducky smiles faintly.

"I see you thought a lot about it."

She rolls her eyes at Ducky, "I haven't thought about anything else but." She starts pacing the corridor, "I understand his concern, and I know his reasons, but he" she turns to Ducky frustrated, "he won't even listen to the facts, he's just immediately assumed the worst and is not willing to change his opinion regardless of what anyone might say to or show him."

Ducky takes a step and puts a calming hand on her shoulder, "then it is up to us to make him see the truth, without the veil of mistrust and anger he seems to be seeing the world through right now."

Joy lowers her head, staring at her shoes for a moment.

"I just…" she starts, but stops, and bites her lower lip trying to keep her agony in check.

"What my dear?"

"I'm just afraid that it might be too late," she lifts watering eyes to Ducky, "that the damage is already done, and that there might be nothing left to be done to fix it."

"Oh dear," Ducky opens his arms, and the petite agent hugs the M.E., heartbroken.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Buchanan comes back to the bullpen, and the other agents are giving a summary on their dead petty officer to Gibbs.

"He's Petty Officer Lawrence Veseley, 29, assigned to Norfolk's administration office," DiNozzo starts reciting the facts he knows, "married, two kids, no previous black marks on his file, he worked on the control of storage of equipment for the Marine Offices in Norfolk. Whenever someone needed something, from a toilet paper roll up to a B-52, he was the man to talk to."

"He was well liked by his peers, and had a historical of taking his buddies to the bar for rounds of tequilas sporadically," says Ziva, as she shows a pic of a smiling Veseley in the bar with his buddies, "a well liked guy."

"McGee," barks Gibbs, and McGee puts his findings on the plasma.

"Apparently, paying his buddies' tequilas wasn't the only thing he was doing," says McGee, and Veseley's bank statements come up, "I've traced several deposits of over fifteen thousand dollars to his account, in cash, and shortly after the money entered his account it has been withdrawn."

"How long has it been going on?"

"I've traced eight deposits and withdrawals in the last three years."

"No idea where that might come from?"

"No," says McGee.

"Keep digging," Gibbs say, "who was his commanding officer?"

"He reported directly to Lieutenant Ibrahim Lawrence, here in the Navy Yard, in the accountant department."

"Tony, Ziva, visit Lieutenant Lawrence and get a clearer picture of his subordinate," he says without taking his eyes of the plasma, "Buchanan, you with me," he says, and grabs his gun and badge and starts leaving.

"What about me, Boss?" says McGee, almost whining. Gibbs stops, and looks first at Buchanan, then at him, "keep digging the origin and the destination of the deposits. As soon as you find anything, give us a call." He sees the wounded look in the junior agent, and despite the fact he doesn't explain his actions normally, "Sarah is downstairs, Tim, if she wakes up," McGee's eyes become huge orbs, as he remembers the situation they are currently in is not normal, "she will want to have you within arm's reach."

McGee nods, as he's not being left behind on purpose. He glances briefly at Joy, who grabbed her backpack and was just waiting for Gibbs to move. She looks at him for a moment, studying his face, "we'll keep you posted," she says softly, as Gibbs moves to the elevator.

"Buchanan," he barks, and she shrugs and follows him. The elevator doors close after them.

Gibbs drove with Buchanan to the dead petty officer's house in Norfolk, to meet the family. While Gibbs was used to the non-stop chattering from DiNozzo, or the friendly and sometimes outright vindictive banter between DiNozzo, Ziva and McGee, Buchanan shared with him his ability to stay completely quiet for long periods of time, not sharing what was going on behind her brown eyes.

He would sometimes glance at her, but her face was an impenetrable mask. He hears her sigh deeply, and when he looks at her he sees her furtively wiping a tear from her face.

He turns his eyes to the road, "That's the reason why we have rule 12."

Joy smiles faintly, "I'm not a great follower of your rules."

"I know, but you should be." He glances at her, "everyone should have rules to live by."

"Rules work only in very specific situations, when everybody involved at least gives a damn about what they say. But sometimes," Joy shakes her head, "people change, situations change, and you lose control of your life, and your rules can't explain what is happening, because life doesn't fit in a box. You can't expect life to follow your expectations about it."

She looks at Gibbs, who is still driving, "And, sometimes, you are wrong."

Gibbs smirks, "Rule 53."

"Uhm?"

"Rule 53 says: sometimes, you are wrong."

Joy stares at Gibbs for some seconds, and he feels her stare burning on him, "that's a good rule," she relents.

And still they drive.


	20. Headwind

**Headwind**

The normal driving time between DC and Norfolk was around three hours and twenty minutes, but in Gibbs' driving it meant only two and a half hours. They left shortly before five, and by dinner time they were parking before the carefully tended lawn of Petty Officer's house.

There were some toys left on the grass before the house, a clear indication of the presence of a child in it. Both agents leave the car and knock at the door, and are received by a beautiful blonde with a short curly hair, with very red eyes.

"Hello?" she says in a tired voice.

"Ma'am, sorry to disturb you at this time of the evening, but we're Agent Gibbs and Agent Buchanan, from NCIS," says Gibbs gently.

"You're here for Lawrence?" she says sadly.

"Yes, ma'am, we would like to ask you some questions," says Buchanan.

She opens the door completely and invites the two agents in.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

They silently wait until she serves them herbal tea for, while a toddler of no more than three years old plays with plastic action figures from Shrek and Aragorn at their feet. Joy studies the young boy, playing, completely unaware of the tragedy that happened today.

_Oh, the innocence of youth…_

Lannie sits down, and the baby immediately runs on chubby legs to show his mother his toys. She gives him a tired smile, and pats his head.

"He has no idea what's happened today, he still doesn't understand the concept of death."

"That's the blessing of innocence," says Gibbs, and he looks up as he hears a door shutting violently on the upper floor. The widow sighs tiredly, "I can't say the same thing from Rick, he's taking it very hard. His father had promised that tomorrow he would be there to watch him play in the junior league, but now…" she wipes her face with a paper tissue, "he won't ever watch anything ever again."

Another crash, as something being thrown on the floor is heard. Both Joy and Gibbs look up, towards the stairs, as they hear more noise upstairs.

"I'm sorry, I have to go…" she starts to stand up, but Joy stops her, "no, let me." She stands up, and silently asks Gibbs permission. He nods, and she leaves him alone with the distressed mother of two.

"We're very sorry for your loss, but we have some questions about your husband that you might be able to help us with…" he starts.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joy climbs the stairs to the first floor, and simply follows the noise of the destruction. She gets to a door at the end of the corridor, and knocks.

The noise stops for a moment, then a sullen young voice, "Go away."

She opens a little gap on the door, "sorry, can't do."

She looks inside the bedroom, and sees a sullen little boy, not older than eight, standing amidst the destruction of his bedroom. He had taken the _Transformers _bed sheets from the bed and the pillowcase from the pillow, and had destroyed the pillow, and soft feathers were floating slowly to the floor. All his books, which some time before had probably being carefully organized in a small bookshelf under the window, were thrown on the floor. Several toys suffered a similar fate.

The bedroom looked like as if a tornado went through it, and right on the middle of it was sitting a sullen little boy, with his face marked with tears.

"Hi," says Joy softly.

"I told you to go away," he repeats, and folds his arms around himself.

"I'm sorry, I don't like seeing little boys in pain," she enters the room, and slowly walks towards him, afraid that he will bolt. He looks at her warily, but doesn't run. She slowly sits by his side, and looks around the room.

"I like the new décor. We could call it the _Return of the Fallen_."

"Piss off."

"Oh, he has a big mouth, I like that too."

She stays in silence, sitting by his side, just looking at the destruction. He lifts his eyes, and stares at this strange adult, who is not chastising him for destroying his room. She feels his eyes on her, then she looks at him and smiles. It annoys him. He can't take the silence anymore.

"Aren't you going to say that I shouldn't have done this? Aren't you going to reprimand me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I like what you've done."

He looks at her confused, "you like it? But mom will be mad when she sees it."

"Yeah, then she will order you to put everything back into place, and then after you do it, she will hug you and kiss you and cry with you in her arms, leaving you only confused, but then," he's staring, confused, at this strange adult, "that's what moms do, they get mad, they confuse us, that's part of the job description."

"Who are you?"

"I'm a cop," she says, "a special cop."

"Why are you so special?"

"Because my title says so." He just looks even more confused. She smiles and grabs her badge, and shows it to him.

"Do you know how to read?" he rolls his eyes at her, and then Joy smiles, and points to her badge, "then read it here."

He squints at the small printed letters and reads it slowly, "Special Agent Joy Buchanan."

"That's me," she gets her badge back, and puts it away. The little boy folds his legs and hugs his knees. Joy frowns a little at her aching muscles, but imitates his position.

"My dad died today."

"I know, that's why we're here today." He looks up at her with tear filled eyes, "me and my boss we're investigating it, and I promise you, we won't rest until we find out why someone decided to hurt him."

A small tear runs down his grubby face, and he wipes it, leaving more dirt on his face, "are you going to arrest me?" he whispers.

Joy frowns, "Why should I? Besides having really bad taste in interior décor, what could you possibly have done that would make me arrest you?"

Little Rick leans towards her, "Dad died because of me." He whispers.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After not finding out anything new from the widow, Gibbs stands up to take his leave. Joy at that moment comes down the stairs with a little boy, approximately eight years old of age. She has her hand on his shoulders, and she guides him to the living room. There are traces of tears on the little boy's face, but besides sadness, he can't see any of the anger he expected to see.

The little boy looks up to Buchanan, as if asking for approval to his actions, and she nods, and he approaches his mother, who is sitting in the sofa with the toddler in her lap, slowly.

"Mom," he says. He sends a nervous glance to Gibbs, but he looks back to his mother, and nervously rolls on the balls of his feet.

"Yes, Rick."

"I messed up my room, mom," his mother smiles between her tears, and opens her arms. The little boy runs to her arms, and crawls on her lap, not pushing his little brother away, and cries on her neck, "oh, mom, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, baby, we'll be fine," she mutters against his hair, "we'll fix it, you can sleep with me tonight, ok?"

"Can I?"

"Sure," she looks up, and sees the female agent looking at the scene with tears in her eyes. T_hank you, _she mouths silently. She just nods, looks at her boss, and makes a sign to leave.

Gibbs nods to the widow, and the agents silently leave her with her babies.

Gibbs notices that Buchanan is deep in thought, and she stops in front of the car and supports her six on it. She frowns deeply, and folds her arms.

"What?" he asks.

"As a profiler and investigator," she says softly, "you are trained to expect the unexpected, to read the minimum signs of a lie or a tenseness of a muscle or reaction that might give you an indication that the person is hiding something."

She turns to Gibbs, "unless my skills are becoming rusty, I haven't detected any untruth in her reactions, her grief and pain are real." Gibbs studies her face, as she glances back at the petty officer's house.

"I also didn't detect any lie, but she has no idea about her husband's job, nor what he did in the Navy. She also doesn't know anything about the deposits in his bank accounts."

Joy smiles, "well, you just asked the wrong source," she opens her jacket, and brings out several little booklets carefully wrapped in plastic, all of them in an evidence bag. Gibbs looks at them, confused, and glares at his agent. She smiles at his ignorance.

"Comics, Boss."

He glares angrily at his agent, and she smiles, "Petty Officer Veseley was a Comic Collector, he has several top of the line first editions," she shows the carefully protected treasures to him, "Batman, Superman, Spiderman, all in pristine condition," she looks up at Gibbs, and he still looks confused at her.

"Boss, my father had a first edition Superman, with just a small rip on the third page, and he sold it for thirty five thousand dollars." Gibbs eyes become huge, and he stares at the things in his hands, then back at his agent, "yes, they are worth a lot of money, in the right circles."

"Apparently, his son Rick found his secret stash and took some to his school, to read it and to show to his friends. His father went ballistic, and screamed at the little boy, who in turn told him that he wished he would drop dead, as his egoistical father didn't want to share his comics." She shrugs, "two days later, his father is dead, and the little boy is in panic, thinking he caused his father's death. He took me directly to his father's stash, a false trapdoor behind a cupboard." She gets the delicate booklets from Gibbs' hands, and puts them back inside her jacket, and zipped it up, protecting them.

"Is it motive enough to kill him?"

Joy shrugs, "It's possible, but highly improbable, as only someone in certain circles would be aware of the real value of these, most people would act exactly as you did, as if it was just trash. Rick told me that his father was slowly selling his collection, and whenever he sold one he would buy a car or take the whole family on a fancy vacation," she shrugs, "besides, the people who collect these things are …" she smiles faintly, thinking about their own resident geek, "well, geeks and nerds, and I hardly imagine McGee killing someone just for a first edition Spiderman, regardless of its monetary value."

Gibbs supports his six on the car, and watches the lights coming on in the houses of the base. "So we got nothing."

"We got nothing," both stay in silence for a moment, looking at the road ahead.

"You were good with the kid," Gibbs says softly, and Joy just smiles.

"You would make a good mother someday," he says, and frowns when that swipes away the smile on her face. She doesn't meet his eyes, and stands up and goes to the passenger seat, "we have a long trip ahead of us, we should get going."

He keeps frowning at her, and goes around the car and takes the driver's seat. He doesn't start the car though.

"What?"

He sees Joy fidgeting in her seat, putting the comics in evidence bags in her backpack, to be processed later.

"Buchanan," he growls, and he's surprised at the pain in her eyes when she finally looks at him.

"I can't." she says softly.

"Can't what?"

"I can't have children," she says softly, and lowers her eyes to her lap.

Gibbs turns in his seat, and stares ahead for a moment.

"Does McGee…"

"Yes, he knows." She sighs deeply, "it was one of the first things I ever told him, when we met," she glances at Gibbs, "they had to take away one of my ovaries, and the other is barely working. With the amount of hormones I'm constantly on, just to control the endometriosis symptoms," she lowers her voice, "nothing short of a miracle would make me conceive."

"Does your family know?"

"Please," she turns to Gibbs, "don't you think they would have said something?"

Gibbs studies his agent for a moment, and turns back to the road, and starts the engine of the car. He freezes his hand over the gear lever, when he hears her softly saying:

"Please, don't tell my dad, it would break his heart."

Gibbs stays silent for a moment, but then mutters, "I won't."

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.


	21. Libeccio

**_Libeccio_**

_**My religion consists of a humble admiration of the unlimitable superior who reveals Himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God - Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)**_

The drive back to DC was made in silence, each in deep thought. Once they arrived in the Navy Yard, all agents had left for their own homes.

Gibbs urged Joy to leave the evidence safe and to go home. She entered the Buchanans' townhouse around midnight and wasn't surprised to see Hope up and waiting for her.

"Hey Sis," she salutes, and kicks off her low court shoes and drops heavily with closed eyes on the sofa.

"There are leftovers in the microwave, we had _espaguete a la carbonara _tonight," says Hope. She looks at Joy, and sees the exhaustion on her face.

"How is Matthew?"

"Asleep in the blue room upstairs." She says, "I took the liberty of putting my things in the yellow one, I drank some wine and didn't want to drive home tonight."

"Be my guest," says Joy tiredly.

"Temperance will sleep with me in the yellow room too, there's no point for her to drive all the way to Quantico dorms and come back tomorrow morning again."

"Whatever," she says tiredly, rubbing the grit from her eyes.

"How are Sarah and Tim?" Joy rubs her eyes again, trying to dispel the itchiness in them.

"Haven't seen Sarah the whole day, but I spoke to Ducky who told me she is physically fine." She sighs, "McGee, well, he's still…" she pauses, and Hope completes for her.

"Pissed off?"

Joy laughs softly, "Yeah, that pretty much describes him."

She stands up, "sorry sis, I'm beat, I'm going for a shower and bed," she starts leaving but Hope stops her.

"Joy," she says in serious voice, "Timothy is hurting, not only because Sarah was hurt, but because of something much deeper," she sees her sister looking at the floor fixedly, "that somehow you are aware of," Joy looks at her, tiredly, "but that's not my point, my point is, he's mad at the situation, not at you. He's hurt, so he's lashing out at everyone and everything, you just happened to be in his reach, and Matt, well, it is easy to hate him as he's the guy who's sleeping with his little sister, it's just convenient to hate him."

"I know."

"His main concern, his main worry is Sarah. Everything else takes second place, as it has been an ingrained behavior for many years in him. Right now, if he sees you are something between him and his sister, he will mow you down."

"He doesn't have the head for little things, so that's where you can make the difference."

She stands up, "think about the details, sis," she kisses her cheek, "good night, I'm beat." And leaves.

Joy, though, didn't go to sleep straight away. She kept staring at the fireplace for a while, then later went to her backpack took a legal pad and started making a list of things to do the following morning.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

That same night, McGee took his sister to his house, and he's surprised to notice that everywhere he looks in his apartment there is a memento or something that reminds him of Joy. A pair of court shoes here, a bonsai plant she bought to cheer up his kitchen counter, even the book she left by the bedside table, with a bookmark on the last page she had read.

Sarah enters the apartment and goes straight to his computer, turning it on and logging on line to avoid conversation.

McGee orders a simple mozzarela pizza, and both siblings eat it half-heartedly. After only one slice of it, Sarah begs to be excused and goes to her brother's bedroom. Tim sighs, staring at the half eaten slice of pizza in his hand. He hears the shower starting in the bathroom, and stands up and puts the leftover pizza back in the box and in the fridge. Nobody will eat more tonight.

He goes to his bedroom, changes the bed sheets for clean ones and checks if no unsavory mementos of his time spent with Joy are to be found between the sheets. He moves the duvet, and goes to the wardrobe, getting one of his MIT shirts and one of his comfortable boxers for his sister to wear to bed.

He sits down in bed with the clothing in his hand, and stares down at a fixed point on the wall.

_It's amazing how fast things can go straight to hell_, he thinks.

For a moment, he thinks about Joy's strength to rebuild her life after the disastrous events in LA. He finally understands her deep dislike of Gibbs' rules, as they are not enough to explain the chain of events that lead to disaster. Regardless of how careful you are, of how many rules you surround yourself with, life will always find a way to kick you on the chin, and you are left stunned before the events.

He hears the shower closing, and a few seconds later the door opens just a small gap, "Tim, do you have a…" He stands up, and put the clothes in her wet hand. She withdraws her hand, and shouts a muffed thanks through the door.

A few moments later, Sarah comes out of the bathroom, and he taps the bed besides him. She sits down by his side, and both siblings just stay there for a moment, waiting for the other to start talking.

"You can sleep in the bed, I will use the sleeping bag," Sarah shakes her head, not happy with the decision.

"Could you stay, just for a little while?" Tim looks at his sister, and he's shocked to see how small and fragile she looks in his oversized T-shirt. There are deep circles around her eyes, that not even the drugged sleep on Abby's futon had been able to erase.

He lifts a hand and plays with her hair, as he used to do when they were little, and she leans and hugs him tightly. He kisses her curly hair with care.

"Let me wash up and I will stay with you until you fall asleep," he leans back, and he's happy to see a small smile in her face, "is it ok for you?" She nods, and he stands up to get ready to bed.

When he comes out of the bathroom in his standard sleepwear, T-shirt and comfortable pjs, his sister is already under the covers. He tucks her in, kills the lights and lays on top of the duvet. She wiggles a little and supports her head on his shoulder, and both stay staring at the ceiling, seeing the lights of the cars reflecting on it.

"I'm sorry, Tim," Sarah says softly.

"For what?"

"For messing up your thing with Joy. I've always known how important she was to you, since the day I saw you together for the first time, and I messed it all up."

"It's ok Sarah," he says, hugging his sister one armed. He sighs, "something was bound to happen," he feels his eyes filling with tears, and closes his eyes, "it was too good to be true."

"Oh Tim," says Sarah, "I'm so sorry you think like that."

"Nothing is more important than your safety, Sarah," he kisses her curly head again.

Sarah starts playing with the corner of the duvet, "I was so scared," McGee turns to his sister, who keeps talking in a very soft whisper, "I kept thinking that it was just a prank, or maybe they were filming a movie, or it was just a nightmare that I would wake up from and everyone would be ok."

She smiles faintly, "remember when I was little, before you left for MIT, and I would force you to look under my bed every single night?"

"Sometimes you made me look twice in one night, even after I scared the monsters away, because you would say it just went for a burger and had come back for dessert," he says, softly laughing.

"I drove mom insane, as she would put me in my bed to sleep and, in the morning, she would find me in yours."

"You were always terrified at night," he says with a smile, remembering that time.

"Then you went to MIT, and mom arranged prep school for me," she says softly, "I hated it," she says with bitterness in her voice.

"Sarah…" says McGee, "you know she did what she did to protect you."

"It was part of the divorce agreement, if you didn't go to the school, you would have to live with that… that…"

"But I lost so much time that I could have spent with mom, just because dad insisted I had to have that stupid education, just for status," says Sarah bitterly.

"Sarah," says McGee in a warning tone.

"She would know what to do now, what to say."

"Yes, she would."

The two siblings stay in silence for some moments.

"I miss her."

Tim tightens his hold on his sister.

"I miss her too."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Unbeknownst to the two siblings in that small apartment in Silver Springs, the late news started to show brand new information on the shooting of Waverly. The old man sees the coverage on the news, smiles a sickly smile and starts packing a bag to visit his family.

It's time to visit Timmy boy and little Sarah again.

* * *

Reviews are food for my soul.

a/n: Who is the misterious man?


	22. Khamsin

_**Khamsin**_

_**I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. - **__**Mother Teresa**_

Morning did not take long to arrive, and faint sunlight illuminated the two siblings sleeping on the bed. McGee awoke slowly with the sun shining on his face, and realizes he never even left the bed to go to the sleeping bag. He frowns, trying to figure out what woke him up, and hears some noises coming from the kitchen.

He looks at Sarah, who is finally sleeping. She had a night permeated by nightmares, which she would wake up from scared or screaming, only to be calmed by her big brother. McGee rubs his eyes tiredly, trying to dispel the last vestiges of sleep, and checks the clock. It is six-fifteen in the morning.

He slowly leaves his sister in the bed, and puts a robe over his sleepwear and leaves his bedroom, just to be surprised by several shopping bags on top of the kitchen counter, and Jethro eating his dog food eagerly.

Joy suddenly stands up from where she was behind the counter with a frying pan in her hand, turns on the stove fire and puts some rashers of bacon on to fry.

"What are you doing here?"

She looks around the kitchen, then at him.

"Breakfast, apparently."

She puts on several rashers of bacon, and gets some eggs from one of the bags and start beating them to prepare the batter for pancakes.

"No, what are you doing here?"

She looks at him, and shrugs, "half of my things are here, Tim."

She points to a backpack by the door, and continues, "and I remembered that it was my turn to pick up the dry cleaning, and I knew that you had nothing clean to wear to work today so…" she points to the pile of his clothes, all in plastic bags from the drycleaners, hanging on top of his computer chair.

"I picked them up for you on my way here."

He looks at her, then at the clothes, and at the banquet she's preparing for him and his sister.

"I also walked and fed Jethro." She smiles half-heartedly, "this way you don't have to worry with silly little things, you can just take care of Sarah."

He looks at her again, studying her face, and sees sincere worry in her, and for the first time since this whole nightmare started, he smiles. She smiles back, and hurries to turn the bacon.

"The coffee will be ready in a minute, you better hurry to get ready, or we will be late for work."

"What's that smell?" says a sleepy Sarah, coming out of the bedroom in one of his MIT t-shirts.

"Hi Sarah. "

Sarah looks from Tim to Joy, timidly, and stops, not knowing what kind of reaction she will receive from Matt's sister.

"I know you left your dorm in a hurry, and had nothing to wear today, so…" she collects a small travel bag by the door, and, after sending a quick glance towards Tim, walks towards McGee's sister.

"I had Hope going to your dorm room, she collected some essentials, toiletries, underwear, a t-shirt or two, a pair of jeans, just to get by the next couple of days until they allow people back in."

Sarah looks at her things, carefully wrapped in silk paper and organized in one of her smaller travel bags, and looks at Joy, with tears in her eyes.

"It is a small comfort, but…" Sarah shakes her head and hugs Joy, fiercely. Joy folds her arms around the youngest McGee, and hugs her back.

Sarah takes a step back, and whispers, "thanks."

Joy laughs a little, wiping a tear running down Sarah's face with her thumb, "that's nothing, are you hungry?"

Sarah nods, and Joy takes her by the hand and brings her to one of the kitchen stools. She gets some toast, gets the fried bacon and puts a generous portion on Sarah's plate. She goes around the counter and pours chocolate milk and orange juice.

"Start eating young lady, I expect you to eat everything," she orders bossily.

Sarah looks at McGee, who is observing the interaction of the two women attentively, and she starts eating. At first she just takes some bites, but as her stomach reminds her that she had only one slice of pizza last night before it revolted against its contents, she starts eating voraciously. Joy gives her more bacon and some eggs.

"Go get ready McGee, I have everything under control," she says, pouring him a cup of fresh coffee and giving it to him.

As he takes the cup from her, and their fingertips touch and electricity is felt by both of them. Joy freezes and looks up at him. He mouths a silent _thank you_. She smiles, and goes back to the kitchen, while he goes to his bedroom to get ready for the day. She hears the shower starting, and pours a cup of coffee for Sarah, and goes to the bedroom to make the bed.

Joy enters the bedroom and silently gathers the used clothes carelessly thrown on the floor, folding them carefully. She makes the bed, and finds one of his used shirts. She brings the shirt to her face, and inhales the undeniable scent of soup and sweat that is so Tim.

_You're so pathetic, Joy. _

She is so deeply focused on folding his shirt that she doesn't hear when he comes out from the bathroom only with a towel around his lean hips, and he catches her sniffing one of his shirts in her hands.

He freezes, and she is startled by his presence.

"Tim?"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Sarah stands up to get another cup of orange juice, and hears the door of the bathroom closing violently. She shrugs, and grabs more bacon and eggs, and keeps on eating her breakfast.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

There were no words or preliminaries. It was just a volcanic explosion of pain, anger, all neatly rolled up with several layers of lust.

They at least had the good sense to lock the bathroom door. The same ferocity burned deeply in both of them, and it burned bright and fast in an explosion of light and lust, leaving both of them breathless.

Joy bit his shoulder firmly, trying to shut up any moan that might erupt from her, and Tim hid his head in her shoulder, panting like a marathon runner, his hands holding her firmly by her hips, her gray pencil skirt rolled up her legs while he attacked her with all his emotional turmoil.

The same storm that started the ravishing also resulted in its fast end, leaving both boneless. Tim had to support all his weight against her body, pressing her against the wall, as his legs were shaking uncontrollably. They stayed like that, without moving, for few minutes, until their legs finally did not feel like rubber and their breathing became normal again.

Tim felt self-loathing burning in his chest, for exposing his weakness before her, his weakness _for_ her, and also he felt ashamed for the total loss of control he showed her. He felt her soft hands sliding over his naked back, and he couldn't help a shiver from coursing through his body.

"You need another shower," she murmured against his neck, and he takes a step back, and she slides against the wall until her feet are touching the floor again. For a moment, both felt extremely awkward about their situation, and Tim stretched his hand to find a towel to cover his naked form.

"I'm sorry, I ripped your…"

"No, it's ok, you didn't rip it, it was just a button…" she slides her hands over her skirt, straightening the creases in it. She starts putting her shirt back inside the skirt, closing the buttons opened in a frenzy.

They finally lift their eyes and see the same hunger reflected in each other's eyes.

"I don't want to fight anymore," he says sincerely.

"Neither do I," she says.

They stay like that, looking but not touching, for what seemed to be forever, their hearts trying desperately to force them to take one attitude, while their brains stubbornly deciding for another.

"I have to…"

"Yeah, we're already running late."

"I, ah… sorry for…"

"No it's ok, I will clean up."

He hops in the shower, again, and Joy goes to the bathroom cabinet, looking for a small hand towel. She gets the first one she finds, brings it to the sink and wets it, and starts to clean herself up.

"How was the interview yesterday in Norfolk?" McGee asks above the noise from the shower.

"Uneventful," Joy brings the cloth under the water again, washes it, and cleans herself again. She looks around for her underwear, puts it on, and checks herself on the mirror. Except for her lip gloss that it is all gone, and a healthy blush on her cheeks, there's nothing out of place as far as her clothes are concerned. She sits down on the lowered toiled lid, and starts putting her shoes on again.

"We found something that I want to run by you, maybe you can do a search with your magic fingers," she hears a laugh from behind the curtains, and smile.

She turns, and looks at the flush button of the toilet, and looks back at his faint form behind the plastic curtains, then again at the flush button.

She grins, and flushes the toilet.

"ARGH," shouted McGee, as the water in the shower became frigid cold.

"DON'T DO THAT," he shouted, trying to protect his body from the freezing water now coming from the shower head.

"Do what?" she asked calmly, "This?" And flushed the toilet again.

She laughed as she was surprised by a long string of epithets she heard from her normally so quiet Elflord.

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.

a/n: Man, there's nothing better than make up sex! Go McGee!


	23. Monsoon

**Monsoon**

_**When it rains, it pours. - Anonymous.**_

They agreed to go to NCIS in different cars, as McGee still had to wait for Sarah to get ready for the day. Joy left first and both were extremely late to arrive at the office. As McGee got closer to the Navy Yard's entrance, he was surprised to see the intense movement of TV vans in front of the main access gate from several blocks away.

"Are they having an event today?" asks Sarah, curious at the movement they can see further ahead.

McGee's phone starts ringing at that moment. He looks at the caller ID.

"Hi, Boss, I'm running a little late, Sarah and I overslept and…"

"Where are you McGee?"

"Getting to the main gate, why?"

"Go straight to the back entrance, and enter the building by the morgue. I will explain when you get here."

He disconnected. McGee looked, confused, at his mobile, then at his sister, and turned the steering wheel to obey him.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As soon as they entered the building by the morgue entrance, they saw Ducky and Gibbs waiting for them.

"What's going on?" He said, leading Sarah by the hand down the corridor towards the elevator.

"We have a problem," growls Gibbs, through clenched teeth, and both McGees can see that he's barely restraining his anger. They look at each other, wondering what they could possibly have done wrong to incur Gibbs' wrath. Besides, of course, arriving at the Navy Yard late.

Ducky notices the worried looks exchanged by the siblings, and hurries to calm them down, "oh dear, it's nothing you two did, my dear," he holds Sarah's hand delicately in his, "it's more likely that Gibbs is mad at what has been done to you," he adds mysteriously.

McGee frowns at Gibbs, "Boss?"

There is a huge question mark in his voice, and the elevator doors opens, and Gibbs enters the car and hits the upper floor button furiously. Ducky and the McGees follow him inside.

McGee feels cold rushing up his spine when Gibbs just glances at him, with a worried look.

"They know, McGee," says Gibbs softly.

"Know what?"

The elevator doors closes.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

They get to the bullpen, to find Joy, DiNozzo and David watching a live feed of ZNN, showing the NCIS's main gate. There is a reporter speaking live, explaining that the brother of one of the survivors was an NCIS agent.

"Somehow someone leaked Sarah's identity and her connection to NCIS to the press," says Ziva, staring at the TV angrily.

"How did they find out?" McGee looks at Gibbs, who goes to his desk and starts dialing his phone.

"That's what we're trying to find out," says Gibbs, putting the phone back forcibly in its cradle.

"It can't be any of the survivors, as by the director of the FBI's orders, every single one has had an agent assigned as his shadow since the shooting, in order to control the flow of information and also to protect them, just in case this was not an isolated case but a terrorist attack," says Joy, frustrated.

"Who else knew of your connection to Sarah, McGee?" McGee shook his head, frustrated, ransacking his brain trying to figure out the puzzle.

"Sorry, Boss, besides you guys, I can't think of anyone. I'm usually very private about my personal life," says McGee.

"Sarah?" Gibbs looks at the young woman, who is twisting her hands as she looks at the plasma.

"My classmates knew I had a brother who was a federal agent, but I don't think I ever mentioned which agency," she bites her lip, "and all of them are dead anyway."

All agents look at Sarah, who lowers her head to her chest, and McGee hugs his little sister to his chest, "hey, it will be ok, you'll see."

The elevator doors ping, and the team turns to it and sees little Temperance dragging a sullen Matthew out of it. He lights up when he sees Joy standing by the plasma, and starts walking towards them.

"Hey," he says with a big smile, but his smile fades a little from his face when he sees Sarah deep in her brother's arms. He freezes, making Temp stumble into him.

"What…" She looks up, sees Sarah looking at Matthew, and looks up to Matthew, who turns around to avoid her stare, and starts walking back to the elevators. But she catches the hurt look on Sarah's face, and runs to block his escape.

"No, no no no," Temp opens her arms, "you're staying."

"Squirt, please, I don't want to hurt her anymore than I've already done, and her brother is pissed off at me," says Matthew, almost begging.

"Come on, suck it up, marine," says Temp and starts dragging him down the corridor by the hand. He valiantly tries to resist, and it becomes a tug of war, he trying to go to the elevator, and Temp pulling him to the desks from where Team Gibbs is watching the stooges show.

"Temp, let me go!"

"No, come on!"

"TEMP," he growls, starting to get angry at her meddling ways. She lets go, and he almost falls to the floor. When he restores his balance, he glares at her for a second, and she attacks him, slapping him lightly on his chest, girly slaps not meant to hurt but to catch his attention.

"Silly silly boy!"

"Temp!"

"Ouch!"

"What!"

"Stop hitting me!"

"Stop," says Matthew, but Temperance keeps slapping him lightly, "Stop, TEMP!"

"Be a man!" hisses Temp, and Matthew glares down at his younger sister, and she hits him below the belt, "Are you a man or a potato sack?"

The siblings enter into a staring contest, which is almost funny, as Temperance is the shortest Buchanan, and she barely hits his shoulders, and Matthew hovers over her by over a foot, but what she lacks in height she has in tenacity, and she won't stand by while her siblings make stupid decisions based on hurt and anger. Oh, no she won't.

"Matthew," Joy calls him up, and he sighs deeply, defeated.

He relaxes his tense shoulders, and looks up to his older sister, "what?"

Joy turns to the plasma, "come here, I have to talk to you."

He sends another glare to Temperance, who sticks out her tongue at him. They start walking towards Joy, and he, in turn, hits her with a headslap, and she immediately kicks him in the shin.

"OUCH!" he moans, jumping on one leg, holding his throbbing leg with one arm and supporting his other hand on Ziva's desk. McGee was watching the interaction with his mouth open, but Sarah was trying not to laugh at the siblings.

DiNozzo was staring at the siblings, "Are they always like that?" he asks Joy.

Joy is staring at the ZNN coverage, and answers nonchalantly, "usually they are worse," she looks over her shoulders," at least this time she didn't break his nose," she smirks when Matthew's hand immediately goes to his own face, protecting his cartilage.

"Ah, but that was an accident," says Temp approaching Joy and standing by her side.

"Yeah," Joy agrees, then completes, "the first time." Both sisters look at each other and grin.

"You broke his nose?" asks Sarah to Temperance, who lifts her hand, showing two fingers, grinning, "twice."

"Ok," Matt says, supporting gingerly his aching foot on the floor, "you had your fun with little me, so what's up?" he approaches Joy, and flinches when he sees the unfriendly look McGee shoots at him, so he doesn't go even near him or Sarah.

But he can't resist the impulse of checking on her, looking her from head to toe and, despite the dark circles around her beautiful eyes, he can't see any wounds. Thank God for small mercies.

"Hi," he says softly to Sarah.

"Hi," she answers, but McGee doesn't let his arm go from her shoulders.

He hears his sister talking in the background, but he's not really listening to her until he receives a headslap from one sister and a jab in the ribs from another.

"WHAT?"

"Did you hear my question?" Joy asks annoyed.

"No, what do you want to know?"

"Did you report to your commanding officer? When you did it, did you go into details of what happened?"

"Yes, I did and no, I didn't," he rolls his shoulders, trying to get the kinks of them, and puts his hands in his jeans pockets, "I had to inform him that I was under FBI protection because I was a witness of a crime, but I didn't go into details, just enough so he could know why I couldn't report to duty by Friday. I was granted another week then."

"Did you by any chance mention Sarah's connection to you or to NCIS at any moment?"

"No," he glances to Sarah briefly, then looks back at his sister, "all he needed to know is that I had to report to the FBI, nothing else, I've never mentioned NCIS."

Joy nods, thinking about her brother said.

Gibbs looks at the siblings, "you think someone in his unit could have blown the whistle?"

"It's a possibility we have to consider, Boss."

"Hey, no, my buddies would never do that." Joy looks at him sternly, "I swear, they wouldn't."

"Have you contacted any of your buddies while you were on leave?"

"No, I was only with…" he shuts up, then glances at Sarah, and shoves his closed fists deeper in his pockets, "No, I haven't."

"But Maverick called the townhouse yesterday," says Temperance. Joy frowns, and glares at her little brother.

"Wait a second," she turns to Matthew, "Dickhead Maverick? You are still friends with that jerk?" Matthew opens up his mouth like a fish, but no words come out of it.

"Dickhead Maverick?" asks Ziva, "what kind of name is that?"

"Come on, that was a long time ago," moans Matthew.

"Why is he called Dickhead Maverick?" asks Sarah, and Joy grins evilly while Temp rubs her hands together. Matthew looks at his sisters and looks up to the ceiling, asking for patience from the heavens.

"He's a buddy of mine from the Marines," admits Matthew, defeated.

"Who happened to have a very short relationship with Hope," says Temperance, grinning.

"And after a long steamy night of crawling up the walls sex, he bragged about my sister's hotness to his entire unit," completes Joy, grinning.

"Oh, that can't be good," frowns Tony, as he had already been in the receiving end of the Buchanans' fury.

"No, it wasn't," agrees Joy.

"Come on, I punched the living daylights out of the guy, couldn't that be enough?" says Matthew.

"You punched him?" asks McGee, with a hint of respect in his voice. Matthew glances at the oldest McGee, who despite the anger he had towards him, at least had directed the question to him.

Matthew shrugged, "it seemed the right thing to do at that time, and nobody hurts any of my sisters and goes unpunished." McGee looks at Matthew with newfound respect, but he shrugs as if it is no big deal.

"What happened then?" Gibbs asks, as he knows that the Buchanan women would not let the guy escape unpunished.

Joy and Temperance look at each other and snicker, "Hope sent a collection of erotic nude pictures she made of him to a gay magazine, and gave them his real phone number. He received calls to set up hot dates for a month, until he figured out the prank and changed his number," says Joy with a big smile on her face.

Gibbs shakes his head laughing at the resourcefulness of Hope Buchanan.

"And every time he changed his number," continues Temperance, "Hope would send more pictures to the magazine updating the telephone info," she laughs out loud, "the prank continued for six months."

"We've called him Dickhead Maverick since then," completes Joy.

"Did you by any chance mention Sarah or her connection to NCIS to Maverick?" questions Joy, but even before she finishes, Matthew is already shaking his head no.

"No, he had no wish to hear what was happening in my life, he just wanted to brag about… ohhh…" he looks at his sisters, then at Sarah, and blushes deeply. Ziva and Joy look at each other and smirk, and Matthew shrugs, "anyway, I couldn't get a word in edgewise, he was totally absorbed in his latest conquest."

Ziva looks at DiNozzo, and grins, "let me guess, a leggy blonde probably from a college fraternity somewhere."

Matthew turns to the NCIS agent, "yes, how did you figure it out?" Ziva smiles openly, looking at DiNozzo.

"Well, I know someone like him, who likes bragging," she says.

"Hey," shouts DiNozzo, offended.

"Anyway," continues Matthew, "it wasn't Maverick, I assure you."

"I agree," says Joy, looking at the McGee siblings, "to release that info and still keep his identity hidden, well, that requires cunningness and intelligence," she looks at Matthew, "two things that Maverick doesn't have in abundance."

"So, now that you know that my friends are not snitches, what do you want me to do?"

Temp grabs his arm, and smiles, "you are going with me to meet Abby," and starts dragging him towards the elevators that go to the labs.

Matt looks at Joy, then at Temp, "the happy goth?" he starts following Temp, who grins at Sarah and McGee as she walks with Matthew by them and starts dragging him down the corridor towards the elevators which will take her to the lower levels of the building.

"Yes, she is so cool, she wears pigtails and she can kill you without leaving forensic evidence."

Matt freezes, and looks back at the McGees then at Joy, "Squirt, if you are trying to make me feel better, you are failing miserably."

"Ah, relax," she walks around him, and starts pushing him with her hands on his back, "she's nice, as long as you don't piss her off." He reluctantly lets himself being pushed by his youngest sister, who starts slapping his back again.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Stop!"

"Stop hitting me," he turns around and grabs Temp by her waist and she squeals, laughing like crazy. He carries her like a potato sack to the elevator, salutes the agents before entering the elevator, and carries his sister inside.

As the silence reigns again in the bullpen, Joy smiles softly at the McGees, and returns to her desk. Sarah comes to her desks, "where should I stay today?"

Joy looks at her, "you are always welcome to stay with us here in the bullpen, but I'd suggest you go to Abby's lab and enjoy the show."

McGee frowns, "I don't think I want her with…"

Joy rolls her eyes, "Please, McGee, you've seen the two of them together," she looks at Sarah, "Temperance will act as a buffer, and if he by any chance acts like anything but a gentleman, ask Temp for blackmail material."

"What type of blackmail material?" says Sarah, with a little smile on her face.

Joy leans back in her chair, and looks up to the ceiling, trying to remember the innumerous incidents from her teenage years.

"Let me see," she grins at Sarah, "you know the episode with the rocket to the moon," Sarah grins and nods, "well, there is the skinny dipping in the lake and the 4th of July incidents, just to mention two of the most embarrassing ones I can recall right away, but Temp remembers much more than me, she was just two grades behind him in school."

"Why would she want to know that?" asks McGee, looking from Joy to Sarah, but he notices the twinkle in his sister's eyes that had been missing since this whole nightmare started.

"McGee," whines Joy, "he's the baaaabbyyyy," she stands up and puts an arm around Sarah's shoulder, and looks at her teammates, "and he grew up with five sisters, four of us older than him: it basically means humiliation and blackmail were our everyday tool to deal with him," she smiles down at Sarah, "believe me, he will be a perfect gentleman."

"Won't he get mad at you guys for that?" Sarah is still insecure, "I don't want to be a problem between you," Joy shakes her head, and laughs.

"Believe me, he's used to one of us using him for target practice, and," she turns Sarah, and starts leading her down the corridor, "if he gives you a hard time, ask Temp to describe the day a seagull pooped on his head during his valedictorian speech."

Sarah's face becomes a comic mask, her eyes big as a flying saucer, her mouth a perfect O. Joy smiles, and pushes her inside the elevator, hits the button to Abby's lab, and waves goodbye.

"I don't know if that's the right thing to do," says McGee.

"Of course it is," she rolls her eyes at McGee, "whether you like it or not, they have to talk about it, and protecting her won't teach her how to deal with her problems, McGee." She grabs his arm, and guides him to stand before Gibbs' desk.

"We have bigger problems to worry about than their lover's spat," she points to the screen, "this worries me."

Gibbs looks at the screen, "any chance someone in the FBI contacted the press?" Joy glares at Gibbs, "What? It's happened before; they don't have the most perfect track record of keeping their yaps shut."

"No, boss, they don't, but there's too much at stake here for such an error of judgment to be remotely acceptable."

"I don't understand," says Ziva, "it puts the McGees' safety in jeopardy, besides that I don't see what else."

"Ziva, you are not looking at the big picture." Joy shakes her head, "this is the second major shooting inside an American University made by a foreign descendant student. It has the potential to increase xenophobic reactions tenthousandfold, foment racism in unseen levels which would be a potential political disaster with the President trying to discuss the new immigration bill in the Senate."

"Besides that, we have the victims, of which at least ten were exchange students, enrolled at Waverly doing their further studies," she approaches the Israeli, who now is frowning at the ramifications, "at least forty percent of the yearly enrollments at Waverly are from international students. If you consider the number of international students per year who enroll in all American Universities, that's an astronomical share of the liquid profits for this sector of the economy. If word gets out that they are sending their children here, just to be killed by the first crazy shooter…" Joy shakes her head,

"The Educational sector will collapse," says DiNozzo, "as they won't reach their yearly quotas to keep their doors open."

"Resulting in Universities closing down, faculty members being discharged from their posts, an all out disaster, etc…" McGee says, and looks at Joy, who nods.

"In the long run, it has the potential of having ripple effects that we will only be able to see years after what happened, but it is a very real possibility, and then," she sighs, "they haven't totally ruled out the possibility of it being a planned attack."

"What? But I thought that they had identified the shooter, and that he has no links with any terrorist group," says Gibbs, frowning, as he had not being briefed about this theory.

Joy folds her arms, and rolls on the balls of her feet, thinking hard about how much she can reveal or not.

Gibbs notices her reticence, and stands up from his desk, "What are you not telling me?"

Joy looks at Gibbs, and simply studies her boss, without revealing anything on her face. However Gibbs sees in her eyes her turmoil: _she wants to tell him, but she can't_.

"Buchanan!" he barks, "my office, now."

Joy glances at McGee, who is looking from her to Gibbs, then back to her, "What exactly does that mean?"

"That's what I'm planning to find out," says Gibbs, grabbing Joy by her arm and dragging her to the elevator. As soon as the doors close behind them, he hits the emergency button.

He glares down at the short agent, who looks at him with a very serious expression on her face.

"Ok, spill."

"Boss," she licks her dry lips, "the Joint Chiefs ordered all FBI agents involved in the investigation, from top to bottom, to sign non-disclosure agreements regarding this investigation. If they disobey, they will face civil and criminal charges, with immediate dismissal from the Bureau."

"Why? Was it a planned attack?" Joy looks up to the ceiling, avoiding his face, and he gets pissed, "do they know something that they are not telling us?"

Joy looks at Gibbs' face, and simply say, "It's because of Matthew, boss."

"What? I don't understand, what does Matthew have to do with the shooting? He wasn't harmed in any way, he'd never met the shooter before, why?"

"Not exactly Matthew, but his family connections," says Joy softly, and Gibbs takes a step back, as he thinks on the Buchanan family.

"It is about…"

"Boss, just think about it, a student with no previous background of violence tendencies just decides to shoot out his whole class, on the exact same day that the Marine son of a highly classified Air Force weapons engineer is in the same building. Besides that, his girlfriend attends the same class where he killed every single student."

"Too much of a coincidence," says Gibbs.

"And you don't believe in coincidences, neither does the Joint Chiefs," completes Joy.

"What exactly does your mother do for the Air Force?" Gibbs is glaring at his young agent, who sighs frustrated.

"I don't know," says Joy, sincerely, "but whatever it is, it is big. Her security clearance is higher than the Director's, she has half of the Pentagon on her speed dial and right now she is stuck in a lockdown in NORAD."

"NORAD? What is she doing at Cheyenne Mountain?"

"I don't know, Boss," says Joy, "but, whatever it is, I'm sure that it is not deep space radar telemetry, as it is their official cover story."

"Deep Space radar telemetry? What kind of crappy cover story is that?"

"I don't know, but if you consider the type of technology and weaponry my mom has been developing, that's mind-boggling," says Joy.

"You've seen it?" asks Gibbs, "I thought it was classified."

"Yes it is, but McGee is not the only one with hacker skills," says Joy with a smile, "I peeked at her laptop once. If the prototypes she's been developing for the last years are even remotely feasible," she shakes her head, and Gibbs feels his gut twitching, "boss, they are not doing telemetry, they are preparing themselves for an all out war."

Both agents stay in silence for a moment, digesting the information revealed.

"Did she ever mention who they were fighting against?" says Gibbs softly, and Joy shakes her head frustrated.

"No, but since she was assigned to the R&D facility in Nevada in 1997, and she started to work directly under the supervision of Cheyenne Mountain, all she ever mentioned about her work is that she was working with the very fabric of universe, and that her work was based in the meaning of life stuff."

"Meaning of life?" says Gibbs with a smile. _Just Maggie Buchanan would describe highly destructive weaponry R&D as the meaning of life_, he thinks.

"Yes," says Joy, "meaning of life." She pauses and sighs, and continues her ranting, "you see Boss, if this has even a remote possibility of being connected to my mom's work, it will be squashed down so fast that no one will even take a peek in the files, and the whole thing will be buried as deep as possible. That's why we have to find who the mole is, if Sarah's relationship to Matthew becomes public, Matthew's identity will become public; if his identity becomes public, then…"

"Then the press will keep on digging until they find out the rest of you, and when they see their efforts blocked, as they find only classified files on you, they will become even more curious."

"And then everything will go straight to hell."

* * *

Reviews are food for my soul.

a/n: Cheyenne Mountain? Air Force? Norad? I see another crossover in Joy's future...


	24. Typhoon

**Typhoon**

Unfortunately, as Grandpa MacGillivray (Maggie's father) always said to his several grandchildren, things will always get worse, seldom better, when there are too many players and too much at stake. You can't control the whole situation, regardless of how desperately you may try. There is always something that you will overlook, and that's exactly where life will kick you.

Whenever it happens, you just have to do your best to break your fall the best you can.

McGee and Buchanan kept following the link of the selling of the comics, and McGee through his magic fingers was able to connect the sudden influx of money into Petty Officer Veseley's accounts to the sudden appearance of extremely rare editions of comics in the market. After several phone calls, they were able to trace some back to a collector in Michigan, and both agents went to the meeting room to make a conference call with him.

Tony and Ziva stayed in the bullpen explaining to Gibbs what they found out from Petty Officer Veseley's supervisor, when the phone on McGee's desk started to ring. Gibbs glances at it, and ignores it, as it's ringing the tone that indicates that it is an internal call.

It stops ringing, and Gibbs turns to his agents again, just to be interrupted by his own phone ringing. He glares at it, and growls on the receiver.

"Gibbs speaking," he says irritated.

"Ah, Agent Gibbs," says Steve, from the main access gate, "I'm trying to reach Agent McGee, do you know where he is?"

"He's unavailable right now, what's wrong, Steve?"

"Oh, you know, it's just that there's someone down here that is demanding to speak with him, and considering the amount of news crews hovering our gate like vultures, I thought…"

"Who's that person? Is it a journalist? Why would he think that McGee would talk to him? Send him packing, and keep the security tight, don't let anyone in without proper identification, we don't want incidents in the Navy Yard."

"No, no," denies the gatekeeper, confusing Gibbs, "it's not a journalist."

"Who is it then?"

"You see, Agent Gibbs," says Steve, and Gibbs stands straight when he hears it, "He's saying he's Agent McGee's father, Commander Kieran McGee."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs ordered him sent in, and immediately rang McGee's cell phone.

"Special Agent McGee," he answered.

"I need you in the bullpen right now," said Gibbs, without greeting him.

"Sure," he glances at Joy, who is sitting in the conference table looking at the comics they collected the night before, "what's this about?"

"Your father is here, McGee," McGee freezes at Gibbs' words, and Gibbs could almost see the panicked face of his younger agent in his mind, "we'll deal with him, together, but come to the bullpen, ok?"

Gibbs disconnects, and McGee stays with the phone on his ear for a moment, paralyzed. Joy stands up, and touches his arm, "Tim," he lowers his phone, and puts it in his pocket, and turns panicked eyes to Joy, who studies his face with concern, "what happened to Sarah? I'm going to kill Matthew if he did anything stupid, I swear, I…"

"No," he shakes his head, and smiles, as Joy immediately jumped to the conclusion that something was wrong with Sarah. He studies her face, so full of concern for him, "my father is in the bullpen," Joy's face become an unreadable mask, in order to hide her fury, "we have to go."

They collect the comics, put them back in the evidence bags, and go back to face the one problem they really weren't expecting to have.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While Gibbs waits for McGee and Buchanan to get to the bullpen, and for McGee's father to be escorted to the bullpen, he makes a call to Director Vance.

"Vance, I need to use your room," he says, without preambles.

"Is this the way you greet your Director, Agent Gibbs," Gibbs is staring at the elevator doors, just waiting for them to open.

"I don't have time to bullshit around, I have a situation here that you must become aware of, and I need you to back me up, no questions asked," the elevator doors open and a tall man in military uniform enters the bullpen escorted by a security guard, who points to Agent Gibbs. He looks around and immediately sees Gibbs looking at him, the man turns and doesn't walk, he _marches_ towards Gibbs. "We'll be there in a minute."

"Agent Gibbs, what's…" Gibbs disconnects, leaving the Director hanging.

The man approaches Gibbs desk, he doesn't look at the other agents, who are studying him carefully, and stops before his desk.

"Agent Gibbs, I presume." He says, holding his cap in his hand against his chest.

"You presume correctly," says Gibbs, with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Commander Kieran McGee, I presume."

"The one and only," Commander McGee says, full of pride at his position in the Navy.

Gibbs studies the man before him, and wonders how this pompous ass could have created such a gentle soul as McGee. It must have been the influence of McGee's mother. Beside the height, and some facial features, like his nose and the line of his eyebrows, there was little in Commander McGee that reminded Gibbs of his Elflord, especially as it seemed that the McGee senior had a scowl permanently fixed on his face.

Gibbs goes around his desk, and points to the stairs that lead to the Director's office, "let's take this meeting to a more private setting," he says.

"I see no reason for that, as my mission here is very simple and straightforward," says Commander McGee.

"And what would that be?" asks Ziva, standing up from her chair, and looking at the two older men with a frown.

_There's something going on here, and Gibbs knows about it,_ she thinks.

He looks at the Israeli, and studies her up and down, and dismisses her in his mind as being a simple weak-minded female.

"My mission is very simple," he says with a cruel smile, which makes Ziva's blood boil, on his face "I came to collect Sarah and to bring her home."

That brings the agents to a standstill, as they look at each other and to Gibbs, who now can't exactly hide his glare from the eldest McGee.

"If you will follow me," he says through clenched teeth, indicating the stairs, but Commander McGee either was ignoring the danger or he simply did not see the fury burning behind those cold blue eyes.

"No need to disturb your routine, Agent Gibbs, just show me the way to my daughter," says Commander McGee.

"I don't think you got it," says Gibbs, stepping closer to Commander McGee and openly glaring at the man, "It wasn't an invitation," Gibbs literally growls the last words.

Finally the elder McGee catches up with the animosity in Gibbs' face, and squints his eyes at this man who, as far as he knows, works with his worthless son.

_Probably Tim shakes on his chubby legs whenever he growls at him_, he thinks maliciously.

"DAD," he takes his eyes from the angry blue ones staring him down, and he receives the surprise of his life when he sees a tall slim man, in elegant clothes, striding up in a hurry down the corridor towards him. If it wasn't for the deep see green eyes that are staring at him with the same terrified look of old, he wouldn't have recognized his son.

"What are you doing here?" asks McGee, as he gets closer to the two older men, and looks from one to the other.

"What do you think I'm doing here? I came for Sarah." He studies the short curvy brunette who arrives at the standoff later, due to her short legs, and the way she looks at his son with worried eyes.

_Uhm, maybe I can use that to my advantage later_, thinks Kieran McGee.

"She doesn't want to see you," says McGee, firmly.

"Why not? I'm her father," says a grinning Kieran.

"Let's move," says Gibbs, and he steers Kieran McGee, who reluctantly starts to walk, to the stairs. McGee looks at his father with troubled eyes, and at Gibbs, who calls him up, "come on, McGee, Director's office, now."

"I'll cover for you, go" says Buchanan softly, as she brushes her hand against his arm, in a feeble attempt of support.

"Still hiding behind some woman's skirt, Timmy? Haven't you grown a spine yet, Timmy boy?" Kieran wouldn't let the chance to put him down pass, and smiles ironically at his sorry excuse for a son, who had always been a disappointment to him.

McGee closes his eyes in torment, and Buchanan looks with fury at the eldest McGee. She literally growls, and her fingers curl like claws, and she mentally prepares herself to rip this asshole's eyeballs out with her manicured nails. Or maybe she should stake his balls to the wall?

"No," says McGee, stopping her before she can advance against his neck, "he's not worth it."

He sighs, and starts following Gibbs and his father to the Director's office, leaving three team-mates looking worried at them.

"Why is Gibbs using the Director's room for this talk?" asks DiNozzo.

Joy smiles wolfishly, "soundproofed walls, DiNozzo."

* * *

Reviews are food for the soul.


	25. Wester

**Wester**

"Abby's Lab," says Abby cheerfully on her phone.

"Abby, is Sarah there?" says Joy, in a worried voice.

"Yes, she is, do you want to talk to her?" Abby looks to the inner lab, where Temperance is telling Sarah, who is laughing wholeheartedly, and at Matthew, who has a resigned expression on his face, another misadventure from the Buchanan siblings. Sometime he would let a small smile escape, then Temp would slap him in the head and he would tickle her, just to cause more laughter from Sarah.

"No, listen to me, I want you to lockdown the lab, and don't let Sarah, Matt or Temp out of it until either Gibbs, McGee or I come to you."

"What? Why? What's going on?"

"Abby, please, don't ask questions I can't answer right now, just ensure Sarah won't leave the lab," says Joy.

"But," she looks at the three young people laughing, "are they in any danger? Are we being invaded?"

"Abby," Joy sighs, "just Sarah's sanity might be in danger, so just do it, ok? We'll be down there shortly."

She disconnects, and Abby runs to the door and locks it.

"Who was it?" asks Matthew from the glass door threshold, with Temp hanging from his neck like a monkey.

Abby, scared, turns to them, and Temp immediately sees that something is wrong and lets go from her brother's neck.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, I received orders to not let you guys out of the lab until either Gibbs, McGee or Buchanan, I mean, our Buchanan comes."

"What do you think might have happened?" says Sarah.

Matthew looks down at her, worried, "whatever it is, it can't be good."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Director Vance stands up when the doors of his office are opened abruptly, and Gibbs and another gentleman enter his inner sanctum. His secretary rushes after them, terrified of his wrath.

"Sir, he didn't wait, he just came and…"

"It is ok," says Vance, watching Gibbs stare at the other man with his famous glare. The stranger is dressed up to the nines in a commander uniform, his cap almost being squashed by his furious hand against his chest, "you may go, and close the door after you." She curtsies and closes the door, leaving just the two very angry men in his office.

Director Vance studies the stranger, and for some reason he seems familiar, but he can't figure out where he could have possibly met this man before.

"Agent Gibbs, care to explain why have you felt the need to invade my office?" He asks still staring at the stranger, who surprisingly had not folded under Gibbs' glare.

"Director Vance," he says without taking his eyes from the stranger, "let me introduce you to Commander Kieran McGee," he growls, and Vance has to struggle not to show his surprise at the revelation, "Agent Timothy McGee's father."

Commander McGee takes his eyes from Gibbs, and turns cunning eyes to Vance. Leon feels his skin crawl at the malevolence and coldness in his eyes, as he studied Vance's face, clothes and desk. For a moment Vance imagined that he saw a faint trace of disdain on his face, but Commander McGee squashed it very quickly, smirked broadly, totally fake to Vance's eyes, and stretched out his hand to be greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Director, it is a pleasure to meet the great figure behind this great agency."

_Sleazy, but efficient,_ thinks Vance.

"To what do we owe the honor of your visit, Commander?" _Let's play your game_, thinks Vance, glancing at Gibbs who is still silently glaring at the other man.

"I believe there is some kind of misunderstanding, as your agent here," he glares at Agent Gibbs, "refuses to take me to my daughter."

_Ah_, Director Vance turns to Gibbs, who in turn communicates something through his eyes to the Director for some seconds.

"I see," Gibbs smirks at Vance's acting skills, "and why would the lady in question request your presence?"

"Why? You ask me why?" Commander McGee is starting to show his true colors, glaring at the director with hatred, "she's my daughter, I came to take her home, where she will be protected."

"She's inside a federal building, surrounded by several armed federal agents, she can't get more protected than that," says Gibbs.

"But you are mistaken, as she's vulnerable, now look what the news stations are saying about the McGees' name on the TV, this I can not abide, she must go home, and must go home now."

There's a soft knock on the door, and the door is opened just a gap to show the secretary, "Director Vance, Agent McGee would like to participate in the meeting."

"Ah, now that useless boy wants to give us a piece of his mind," growls the Commander, and Gibbs has to restrain himself from decking the older man.

"Bring him in," says the Director, and a very distraught McGee enters his room, and the secretary closes the door behind him. He looks at Gibbs first, then at the Director, then at his father who can barely contain his disdain for his son.

"Dad, I think you'd better leave," he says.

"I won't leave until I see Sarah, and she will leave with me," growls the Commander.

"That is yet to be decided," says the Director firmly, glaring at the eldest McGee.

"Agent McGee," says Vance, "can you confirm that this man is your father?"

McGee closes his eyes for a second, and sighs, "Yes Director, he is."

"Any reason why he shouldn't be granted access to Sarah?" asks Vance, and he's surprised at the transformation on his agent's face, from distraught to firm conviction, totally serious.

"Because he's a worthless father who'd never really cared about her, and who is just worried about the shame and disgrace we might bring to the McGee name." He looks at Vance, "I bet that he just came out of nowhere because he saw her name in the news, and decided to turn our lives hell again."

"Oh, I will show you who is worthless you little…" says Kieran, just to be stopped by a hand firmly on his shoulder, "SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" Gibbs pushed him to one of the chairs.

"YOU ARE TAKING THE BOY'S SIDE?" roars Kieran.

"I'm taking the side of my agent, with whom I had the pleasure of working for several years," growls Gibbs, "I see no boy in this room."

"Dad," says McGee, approaching the three men, "Sarah is fine just where she is, she doesn't need the aggravation of having you trying to weasel your way into her life again."

"Listen, boy, you were always useless, I knew I should have taken her from your mother and later on from you, you infected her with your weakness, now see the news, she almost caused a bigger disaster, if she had squealed more people could have died."

"Dad," tries Timothy, just to be interrupted by his father.

"You didn't protect her!"

"There was nothing I could do, I wasn't there."

"I could have protected her!" shouts Kieran.

"Like you protected mom from your buddies? I don't think so," roars Timothy.

Commander McGee stands up, faces his son, and shouts to his face, "She was a slut, he said she was a willing participant!"

"She was hurt and you took his side!" shouts McGee back.

A beefy hand rises automatically, but Kieran is surprised to have his attack stopped by a firm grip on his wrist.

"Don't you dare touch him!" growls Gibbs, barely containing his fury, glaring at the eldest McGee with hatred.

The two men start a staring contest, none giving an inch.

"I see, so you are on this little wimp's side?" he snarls, and Gibbs squeezes his wrist painfully.

"Let me make this clear for you, _Commander_ McGee," Gibbs growls the title, showing that he has no respect whatsoever for a man who rises his hand to hit his son in front of his employers, "Sarah is under federal protection, and until the investigation is closed, you will not get near her, you will not disturb her, you won't even breathe the same air she breathes."

"If by any chance I find out you tried to talk to her, or get close to her, without me or her brother's presence or authorization, we will have you arrested."

"This is an abuse of authority," he takes his wrist out of Gibbs' reach, "I will have you reported." He turns to Director Vance, "aren't you going to reprimand him?"

"For what? For upholding the law? Agent Gibbs is correct, Sarah McGee is under NCIS and FBI protection, and she will remain under our protection until further orders are received. We won't give her custody to someone who claims to be related to her, but up until now has never graced us or her with his presence," says Director Vance.

Commander McGee looks from the Director, who did not reprimand his agent as he had expected, to Agent Gibbs, who was still staring at him with fury. He frowns, as he had not expected resistance from this side, apparently, his wimp of an eldest son had found someone to stand up for him, _always hiding behind someone else_, he thinks.

He looks at his son, who surprisingly is not looking at him with fear, but with shame. His own son, that wimp, is ashamed of his father, the father who always tried to make a man out of the worthless creature he was.

"This will not end like this," he says to no one in particular, then stares at his son, "you won the first time in court, but you botched this time, dragging our name through the mud, as I always feared you would do. I'm ashamed to have you as my son, and I have all intentions of taking Sarah away from your pernicious influence, whatever it takes."

"She's not a minor anymore, dad, she's an adult. You can't order her around, she's the owner of her own life."

"And look, where did she end up? In the headlines of all the newspapers, as the crackpot who almost caused the death of dozens of people. It is because of you that she's such a weakling, if she had stayed with me, such thing would never have happened."

"No, dad, if she had stayed with you she would probably be dead," growls McGee, advancing against his father, "because she would have never met the man who ended up saving her life."

His father raises his hand again and stops, but McGee is not afraid anymore, and just incites him further.

"What, dad? Aren't you going to hit me? I have some news for you, I'm not thirteen anymore. If you hit me, you will be arrested for assaulting a federal officer."

Both McGees stare at each other, until finally the Commander turns to the Director, and salutes, "It's unfortunate that you did not meet my expectations, Director," then the commander glares at Gibbs, and starts to leave the office, but before he does, he stops before McGee, and hisses "you will pay for humiliating me this way," and marches to the door.

"Don't let the door hit your ass when you leave," shouts Gibbs, and when Commander McGee opens the door, three people stand up from the sofa in the outer office. It's Tony, Ziva and Joy. Joy glares at him, and the Commander frowns at her, then he glances at the two other agents, to which he did not pay any attention previously.

"David, DiNozzo, escort Commander McGee to the main gate, and ensure he leaves in the first taxi," orders the Director from inside the office.

Both agents take a side of the commander, and forcefully escort him out of the building. Before leaving though, he glances back to the small brunette agent, who is staring at his son's back with a tortured expression on her face.

_I can definitely use that to my advantage,_ thinks Kieran.

* * *

a/n: Don't worry guys, Gibbs will deck him. Sometime soon. If the Buchanans don't stake his head to the wall before.


	26. Easterly

**Easterly**

McGee heard his father's footsteps leaving the room, and felt totally mortified for the scandal he created, in the Director's office, no less.

He closed his eyes, trying to stop the tears of shame and anger from escaping his eyes. He faintly hears a woman's footsteps hurrying in his direction, and soft hands hugging him in an attempt to comfort him. A hand went to his head, bringing his face to her own neck, and he inhaled the soft peach aroma that permeated her skin and her hair.

He couldn't help his body trembling, as the shock of seeing his father after all these years finally settled in, and the pain and panic finally found the necessary outlet. He hugged her back, tightly, and tried to control his breathing.

"It's ok, he's gone, he can't hurt you," she murmured against his ear, trying to calm him down. He hugged her tighter, and she cringed a little, but did not complain. He needed her, and if he needed the physical touch to ground him, she wouldn't deny him that.

"He.. is he gone?" his voice was quivering, and she took a step back, and molded his face with her hands so he could look at her, but he kept his eyes still closed, and the tears he had tried to stop were already running down his face.

"Sarah… oh my God Sarah, is she…" he starts to hyperventilate, as the possibility of his father taking away his sister flitted through his mind.

"She's fine," she forces him to look at her face, "McGee, look at me," he opens his eyes, and looks into her brown ones, "she's fine, he can't take her away from you, she's safe with Abby."

"She's fine?" his mind is trying to register what's being said to him, but he feels like his mind is working in slow motion.

"Yes, she's fine, come here," she looks at the Director and at Gibbs, who until now had stayed in silence watching her trying to calm down their agent, and guides him so he sits in one of the chairs by the conference table. He sits down, and almost immediately he hides his face in his hands, supporting his elbows on his knees, trying to control his breathing. Joy runs her hand on his back in soothing circles, and looks at Gibbs, who is looking at McGee with something akin of pain and pity.

"Boss, you'd better call Abby, she must be frantic," says Joy.

"Why?" he immediately takes his mobile phone out, and starts dialling.

Joy smiles, "I told her to lockdown the lab with Sarah, Matt and Temp inside it, and just to open it when you personally told her that it was ok to do it."

"GIBBS! What's going on?" shouts Abby on the line, as soon she answers it.

"Abby, can you please escort Sarah to the Director's office?"

"What's happening, Gibbs? First Buchanan calls me telling me to lock down the lab, then Ziva just growls on the phone when I call her and Timmy is not answering!"

"ABBY!" Gibbs shouts. He closes his eyes, tired of the avalanche of problems his team seems to be facing this week. "Just… just bring Sarah here, ok? Timothy needs to see her."

"Ok, Bossman." She disconnects.

"Agent McGee," Director Vance studies his agent, who almost had a meltdown after facing his father. _Then, with a father like that, who needs enemies,_ thinks Vance, "Care to explain what exactly happened in my office?"

"I'm sorry, Director, I've never imagined I'd see him again, much less have to confront him in your office," says McGee, his voice muffed by his hands on his face.

"Don't apologize, McGee," Joy glares at Gibbs, daring him to quote his rule, and she's surprised when he simply says, "it's not your fault, you weren't expecting it."

"Why is he so insistent on taking Sarah away from you?" asks the Director.

"And why does he despise you so much?" asks Gibbs, with a frown on his face. He couldn't imagine someone having such a fine son like McGee and not being proud of him.

McGee takes his hands from his face, and stares at them for a moment, flexing his fingers in a nervous tic.

"He never thought much of me," he says in a low voice, "I was supposed to be the third generation McGee to join the Navy, but…" he chuckles in a self-depreciative way, "I get seasick in a small boat in a lake, I could never…" he lifts his head and looks at Gibbs, "I could never fit his ideal of how a son should be, so he simply despised me."

"But that still doesn't explain his fixation with your sister," says Vance, going around his desk and supporting his six on it.

"He… he always played favorites, and Sarah was his perfect little girl, who could do no wrong," he sighs, and wipes the tears from his face, trying to control himself better, "he most of the time ignored mom and me, but, after…" he looks at Gibbs and at the Director, and bites his lip, and both men sense there's much more to the story than what they are imagining.

"What happened to your mother? Was she hurt in any way? Did he hurt her?" asks Gibbs, and he sees his young agent trying valiantly to hold on to his secrets, turning tortured eyes to him.

Joy takes another chair and sits close to McGee, and immediately she takes his hand in her smaller ones in a signal of support. He squeezes her hand, and she squeezes his back, and they look at each other for a second, "he deserves to know, Tim," she says softly.

McGee sighs, defeated, and Gibbs takes another chair and sits before his two agents, one with whom he has worked for several years, and apparently Gibbs had no idea of the layers of hurt he hid, and the other offering silent support to him.

Vance stands besides Gibbs' chair, and studies both agents, and says, "nothing said inside of this room will go on record, if you wish, but if he tries to create problems, either for you or for the agency, we need to be aware of what to expect."

McGee looks at Vance, then at Gibbs, and starts his tale:

"You see, he never really was a tender person either with mom or me, as she was just a… a complement to his perfect picture image of how a commander should be, with a smiling wife and two point five kids, and I was supposed to be the perfect son who would follow in his footsteps and continue the McGees' brilliant name in the Navy."

McGee laughs, "but I was sickly from an early age, then a sickly toddler, and as a child I had already developed a complete aversion to water, and heights, and it was quite clear that I definitely wouldn't follow in his footsteps in the Navy." He looks at Gibbs and at Vance, both men listening to his story with serious expressions on their face, "he still tried to toughen me up, but apparently I never could measure up to his idea of perfect son."

"Even if you tried, you would never measure up," says Joy softly, caressing his hand in her own, tracing the veins under the skin with her fingers. He looks at her, and she continues, "in this type of psychopathic behavior, regardless of how much you strive to achieve the goal, you will never reach it, it will never be enough for him."

"Were you aware of Agent McGee's father's…" Vance frowns at the description, but uses it anyway, "psychopathic behavior?"

Joy smiles a self-depreciative smile, "Director Vance, I'm a profiler first and foremost, but," she looks at McGee with a smile, "my background is psychology: I saw the signs, I saw the behavioral patterns, the eagerness to please and to get it right no matter what cost, all indicative of an abusive parent," McGee frowns at her for a moment.

"You profiled me," he says, frowning.

Joy smiles at McGee, "from the very first moment you sat beside me at that bar." They keep looking at each other for a moment, he with a very serious thinking expression on his face.

"What is your verdict?" finally he asks.

"About what?" she says.

"Am I a crackpot like him? Will I become a domineering bastard with abusive tendencies when I get older?" he says, extremely bitter at the situation.

"Tim," Joy starts to say, but Gibbs reacts faster.

_SLAP._

"OUCH," McGee looks at Gibbs and rubs his head.

"Don't ever compare yourself to him again," growls Gibbs, "you are nothing like that… that..." Gibbs apparently can't find a word to describe that man.

"Sycophant?" says Joy with a smile to Gibbs.

"That works for me," says Gibbs, and then he turns to McGee, "now, what happened to your mother, you still haven't told us."

"He used to be away for long periods, and sometimes he would ask one of his buddies to check on us," McGee says bitterly, "one day I came home early from school, I had felt sick and I was told to return home, and I caught one of his buddies trying to… force his attentions on mom," McGee closes his hands in tight fits, "she was trying to escape him, she was, but he wouldn't let her go!" McGee closes his eyes at the memory, and both Vance and Gibbs look at each other for a second.

"How old were you when that happened?" asks Vance gently.

"Thirteen, and I attacked him, and he… he beat me up right in front of mom, who had to call a neighbor to stop him," McGee opens his eyes, and stares at his own hands, "we reported him to the base police, but when Dad came back he spoke to his buddy and he told Dad that mom had tried to seduce him. Dad came home furious and confronted mom, saying that she was a liar. That's when she decided to divorce him."

McGee looks at Gibbs, and continues, "Dad's lover had already given birth, so he was ok with the divorce, as he wanted to start a new family with her, but he wanted to keep the kids. Mom fought him in court, and was granted custody, but Dad was really vindictive, and as part of the divorce agreement he made a mandatory clause that Sarah should receive an education worthy of her status as his daughter, so mom had to sell most of our things to guarantee the money for Sarah's prep school. By the time the divorce was finally over and the terms of the custody finalized, I had already been accepted to MIT on a scholarship and mom had sold our old house and rented a smaller one closer to Sarah's school."

"In Dad's mind, if he couldn't stay with Sarah, neither could mom, so he arranged this clause, so even though mom had custody of Sarah, Sarah had to stay in the prep school the whole week and would go home only on weekends." McGee sighs, "if she didn't obey the terms of the divorce, Dad would take Sarah away from her."

Vance looks at Gibbs, "That definitely explains his protectiveness towards his sister," he looks at McGee, "Agent McGee, Agent Buchanan, you two are on leave, effective immediately, for as long as I deem necessary, until this whole nightmare is over," he turns and returns to his desk.

"Director Vance," says Joy standing up.

"Leon, is that really necessary?" Gibbs looks at his agents, who stood up and now are looking at the Director.

"I understand your concern for your agents," says Vance, looking at Gibbs, but he shakes his head with conviction, "but this is a federal agency, not a stage for the exhibition of your personal tragedies," he turns to Joy and Tim, "I sympathize with the situation, but right now I have the Navy Yard under siege by cameramen from several TV crews from all over the country, a crime yet to be solved and a Navy commander who will certainly report me and my main team to SecNav for lack of professionalism. Right now, I have to control the damage already done, and hope for none more to come into my path and that of my agency."

"Do we really have to be dismissed from the case?" says Joy, sadly.

"Why, do you see any other alternative Agent Buchanan?"

Joy thinks for a whole minute, considering the options available and what they know and what they must do. Finally, she exposes her idea to the Director.

"We could lay low for a while, relocate to another place where the news vultures would never connect it to us and still do our jobs ," says Buchanan.

"And," says McGee standing up, "if my father comes knocking again, you could honestly say that you have no idea where we are."

Gibbs folds his arms, and glances at Vance, who seriously considers the option.

"Please elaborate on that," says Vance after a while.

"My oldest brother's house is in Norfolk, close to the deceased petty officer's. We could stay over for some days there, and investigate _in loco_, as none of our leads on his personal life or professional life panned out."

"We could investigate there, and send our findings to our office in Norfolk, who would then send it over to you here in DC, and none would be any the wiser about our location," completes McGee.

"As we would be staying in a private house, there would be no electronic or credit card trail linking our stay to the Agency," says Joy.

Joy and Tim stand before the Director's desk, almost begging not to be taken off the case. Vance thinks about the offer, and it actually would make sense, as they would lay low for a while and still keep on the investigation. The news crews currently outside the gates, once informed that their prey had escaped their reach, would look around but they wouldn't be able to trace them back to a small family house in Norfolk.

"Agent Gibbs?" Gibbs studies his agents for some seconds, and sees their eagerness to keep on working, but their tiredness with all the problems that seemed to be popping up one after the other.

"Is there space for the four of you over there? Because Matthew and Sarah would have to go too."

"Please," says Joy with a smile, "all of the family houses were chosen for their capacity to gather a large number of people comfortably. There is plenty of space for us, even for the whole team if the need arises."

Gibbs turns to Vance, "I see no problem with that, and they need some air."

Vance looks at Joy, "Make the call," Joy gets her mobile phone, and starts dialing, at the same time that there is a knock on the door and Vance's secretary lets Sarah, Matt and Temperance, with an excited Abby in.

"TIM," says Sarah, and runs to hug her brother. He hugs her back, tightly, under the careful eyes of the Director and other agents.

"What's going on?" Abby is almost exploding with curiosity.

"Abby, I need you to check with Ziva and Tony if they were successful on their mission. If they are back, asks them to wait for me in the bullpen, I will be there as soon as I'm finished here."

Abby looks at the two McGees hugging, and at the Director's and Joy's serious faces and agrees. She leaves, clacking her high platform shoes.

"Matt," Joy closes her phone, as nobody answered the call. She throws her keychain to him, who catches it in middle flight. "Go to the townhouse, pack three duffle bags, one for me and one for you and another for McGee, enough for…" she looks at Gibbs, who shrugs, "ten days, put it in the trunk and come back here. We're leaving in one hour."

"Leaving to where?" She glares at him, and he nods, "ok, no questions asked, I don't need to know."

"Temp," Joy glances at Sarah, "I need you to go to Waverly dorm, use your FBI ID to be granted access to the dorm, and I need you to pack a duffle bag for Sarah. Be back ASAP."

"You're running?" says Temp, looking from the McGee siblings to Joy.

"No," Joy grimaces, "we're just," she glances at Gibbs, "laying low for a while."

"What happened Tim?" Sarah takes a step back, and studies the track of tears on his face and the tired look in his eyes.

"Dad happened, Sarah, he came out of the hole he was hiding and tried to force his hand, ordering the Director and Gibbs to lead him to you."

"no, no, no, no," she starts shaking, "I'm not going with him, I'm not!"

"That's exactly why we're relocating you to somewhere safe," says Gibbs, looking at Sarah, "you will be away from the scrutiny of the media and if your father comes knocking again, he won't be able to track you down."

"Tim, you promised he wouldn't bother us, I'm an adult now, he can't drag me away, can he?"

"No, he can't," say Joy, and she looks at her siblings, "but we won't stay here to find out. Go, you know what to do." Matt throws a worried glance at Sarah, who is still in her brother's arms, but Temp grabs his arm and drags him out of the Director's office.

Sarah takes a step back, and looks at Gibbs and the Director, "I'm sorry for being such a burden."

"Sarah," says the Director, "nothing that has happened is in any way your fault. You just happened to be connected to it, one way or the other," he looks at Gibbs, "right now, our best choice is to control the damage already done, and ensure that no more leaks occur to the press."

"And ensure that your father doesn't become another problem to us," says Gibbs.

Joy's phone starts ringing, and she hurries to answer it.

"Buchanan," she says.

"Howdy, cowgirl, ready for some shocking news?"

Joy smiles at the greeting her sister Hope gives her, "please, no more shocks today, I don't think my heart can take it."

"Ok, so I will go straight to the facts, we found the leak and we are on our way to plug it."

"Hang on a second, I'm putting you on speakerphone," she turns to Gibbs and the Director, "you guys wanna hear this."

"Hello? Is anybody there?" Gibbs smiles as he hears Hope's voice.

"What do you have for us, Hope?"

"Hey Gibbs, how is it going? I bet your life has never had so much adventure as since you met us." Joy rolls her eyes at her sister antics, "Hope, I have the McGees, Gibbs and the NCIS Director here with me, you said that you found the leak, what can you tell us?" as Joy says that, the Director and Gibbs stand straighter, as that is something they really want to know.

"Hey McGee," calls out Hope, "does the name Christopher Kowalski ring any bell to you?"

McGee frowns, as he can't remember anyone with that name. "No, should I remember this person?"

"Is he the leak to the press, Agent Buchanan?" say Vance, very seriously.

"Hi, your Joy's Director, Uhm? Well, Director, yes, after some pushing and prodding we traced the info leak to a small TV crew, who apparently were told by Kowalski."

"And how did he access that information?" Gibbs is frowning at the telephone.

"Apparently, McGee gave this information to him himself," says Hope.

Everyone turns to McGee, whose eyes become huge, and he opens and closes his mouth, but no words come out of it.

"How?" says Joy.

"Let me see if I can refresh your memories, Officer Christopher Kowalski was the weasel who tried to deny you entry to the Waverly Campus yesterday. Apparently during your conversation with the officer, McGee mentioned that his sister was inside. Well, we kind of pissed him off when we bulldozed our way inside, and he just had to ask around a little bit and he was told by a paramedic that, indeed, a Sarah McGee was among the survivors," says Hope.

McGee closes his eyes, mortified by his mistake, "I remember, I just wanted to go through the checkpoint, but I never imagined he…"

"We identified ourselves as federal agents from NCIS as soon as we went through the road blocks, and it wasn't a big leap to him once he was given all the connections," says Gibbs.

"What could possibly have made him assume that he could disclose such information?" says Vance.

"I have no idea," says Hope, "but that's what I'm about to find out, we're on our way to pick him up."

"Who's dealing with his interrogation?" asks Joy.

"Yours truly, and I heard Faith has been sharpening her katana to experiment on him. Oh, Gibbs, GIBBS!"

"Yes Hope," he smiles at Hope's enthusiasm at the perspective of grilling the suspect.

"Are you willing to send Ziva to join the party? I've heard from Joy she can kill eighteen different ways with a paperclip, she would be a great addition to the torture chamber."

"Somehow," Vance can't hide the mirth from his voice, "I believe the FBI director would frown on torture being used on one of their suspects."

"Ah, come on, what he doesn't know can't hurt him," says Hope, then she remembers whom she's speaking to, "argh.. ah.. Sir, NCIS Director sir, you wouldn't tell him, would you?"

Vance, for the first time since he found out his agency was under siege from the news, laughed, "no, but we didn't have this conversation."

"What conversation?"

"Keep us posted, Hope," says Gibbs, and he turns to Joy and points to the phone with his head.

"Hope, I have to talk to you," says Joy, and turns off the speakerphone, and goes to a corner of the Director's office to talk privately with her sister.

Gibbs turns the Director, who says "at least now we know where the leak happened and how it happened."

"I'm sorry, Boss, I never imagined that would happen," says McGee, with his arm around his sister's shoulders.

"Don't apologize; you had no way to know that he would try to use the information. I also didn't even imagine that he could be the leak."

"What now? What is going to happen to us?"

"Now we get ready to leave," say Joy, returning to stand by Gibbs and putting her mobile phone in her pocket. She turns to Gibbs, "I was able to speak to Lisa, Johnny's wife, she's expecting us, and she said that there is plenty of space if the team wishes to drop by later on as well."

"Then do the necessary arrangements," says Vance, standing up. He looks at McGee, "we already found the leak to the press, now we will think about the best way how to deal with your father."

"Ah, Director, about that," says Joy, "you might want to take a backseat for a while."

All present turn to Joy, who shrugs and rolls on the balls of her feet. McGee recognizes her tactic to hide she's done something wicked. Really evil.

"What have you done?" says McGee, and he receives a mischievous smile in turn, "let's say that Commander Kieran McGee is about to receive a visit from the Furies themselves." She looks at Gibbs, and smiles at him, "I hope you enjoy the show, Hope will call you giving you all the coordinates."

* * *

Reviews are food for my soul.

a/n: Kieran messed up with the WRONG family!


	27. Northwester

**Northwester**

Immediately after he was escorted out of the NCIS building by Tony and Ziva and put into a taxi, Commander Kieran McGee started to make some phone calls.

"Listen, it's Commander McGee, I need you to dig up everything, and I do mean everything you can come up with about my eldest son's team. If they have any secret or skeletons in the closet, I want to know."

There was silence while he heard the answer of whoever was at the other side speaking.

"I'm especially interested in the little brunette, a Latina, who works with him. I'm sure he's sniffing up her skirts, and I want to use it. There must be some rule against fraternization on the job, and I want to use that against him."

"Really? That's great, call me when you have something concrete." He disconnects.

"No one, no one humiliates me like that and they are going to pay for it," mutters Kieran.

The taxi driver just glanced at him in the rear-view mirror, and kept driving.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

However, without his knowledge, on the other side of the city, the same request had been made from the opposite side of the battle and deft fingers were already tracking Commander Kieran McGee's secrets and skeletons, and plans were being carefully made.

After all, Buchanans don't get mad, they get even. And Commander McGee had tried to hurt one of their own. Well, they were _honorary_ Buchanans, but Buchanans nonetheless. His head and his balls would probably be stuck to a wall, any wall, by nightfall.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Matt and Temp were back in the bullpen at the designated time, and while they were gone Joy and Tim worked hard to finish any paperwork that might be pending on their desks.

"Boss, according to my research, with the possible exception of the money spent on the fancy trips and the brand new car officer Veseley bought last year, all the money he obtained from the sale of his rare comics has been transferred to this account," McGee puts a bank statement on the plasma, "he was selling only the most coveted comics, checking the market for the demand and selling it at top dollar, to ensure the highest bidder."

Tony whistles, "that's a lot of money for just some comic books."

"Those are not just comic books, Tony," whines McGee, "those are twentieth century pop art classics."

"Ok, let's put it in a way you might understand, Tony," says Joy, with a smile on her face, "if you had the chance of buying one of the original film reels of Casablanca, still in the original Movie Studio box, with the seal intact, how much would you pay for it?"

"Are you kidding, that's worth a couple of thousand dollars! Probably hundreds of thousands!" exclaims DiNozzo.

Joy looks at McGee, who smiles at his colleague's enthusiasm at the hypothetical situation.

"That wouldn't be much different," she points to the screen, "to the people who collect them, the really hardcore collectors, they are willing to pay several thousand dollars to ensure that the comic they have is in top condition. And they are always in contact with other collectors to ensure that the one they have is better. It is a very small niche in the society, and almost everyone knows everyone," she turns to Gibbs, who was watching the explanation, "that's why it was so easy to track down the sales, Boss, once Veseley's comics hit the market, everyone who was someone in the business knew of the treasures he had."

"Still you don't think that these …" Gibbs points to the booklets in the evidence bag, "comics are the reason Petty Officer Veseley was murdered."

McGee shakes his head no, "Veseley was very careful to not reveal his identity during any transaction, he used different P.O. Boxes in his contacts with the collectors, and the transfers of money were made through different banks, being later on transferred to his. Even if someone tried, they would get stuck on the first wire, he would not find the final receiver of the money."

"But you found it out," says Ziva, "how?"

"The only reason we were able to trace it back is because we had the final bank account. Anyone paying attention would start with the first transfer, and try to trace it to several banks, getting lost in the system. We had the final account, then we backtracked to the original deposit."

"Tony, Ziva, any news on your side?"

"Sorry Boss, but he was squeaky clean, no one had ever had any complaint about his job, no secret book with second accounting, no nothing."

"Then why was he murdered? Someone had to have something against him."

Joy looks at McGee, "that's what we're hoping to find out, once we have the chance of speaking with the widow again."

They all return to their own desks, and start to type on their computers again. Sarah had gone downstairs to stay with Abby, until the Buchanan siblings return to the bullpen.

Tony glances at Ziva, then at Gibbs, and decides to talk about the elephant in the room, "Hey McGee, what was that about your father?"

He sees McGee tensing up, and Gibbs turns to him, glaring, almost demanding that he shut up. But his curiosity gets the better of him, and it was greater than his sense of self-preservation.

"Not your damn…" starts Gibbs, just to be interrupted by McGee.

"No, it's ok Boss." McGee turns to Tony, and says with all seriousness he can muster, "it's a long story, Tony, but just to give you the Reader's Digest version," McGee takes a deep breath, and continues, "my father is a worthless piece of shit who spent his entire life trying to make my life hell and to take Sarah away first from my mom, later on from me. When he couldn't, he decided that ensuring that she would have the unhappiest teenage years possible was sufficient. And I've always fought against him. And now, just because Sarah is going through this nightmare, he decided that it was time to crawl out from under the rock he usually stays and make our lives hell again. And that basically sums it up. Any questions?"

Both Ziva and Tony were frozen on their seats, both by the bitterness they could hear in their team-mate's voice but also for the hidden story they could hear in between the lines.

After several attempts, where Tony opened his mouth several times, but no word came out, finally his brain caught up with his mouth and his first words out were, "Did Gibbs know about that?"

He glances at Gibbs, who is glaring at the PC screen as if it is to blame, and growls, "I've found out about it only yesterday," he glances at McGee, "in our talk in the elevator."

"So, when McGee's father came to the Navy Yard today," Ziva looks from Gibbs to McGee, then back to Gibbs, "you knew that it would mean trouble."

"Yes," growls Gibbs again.

"So," says Tony, looking from his bossman to his team-mate, "what do we do now?"

"Nothing," says Joy, leaving her desk and standing up before McGee's, "we'll lay low for a couple of days until the news sharks get tired, and the frenzy about the shooting dies down, but we will do nothing about McGee's father."

"Man, but if he comes threatening Probie, we have to do something," says Tony.

"Yes, we do, but we have to plan it carefully," says Joy, with a smart smile, "and whatever we plan, we can't do it while several TV cameras are turned on us."

"But you are planning to do something," says Ziva, squinting at Joy.

She smiles when Joy looks at her with at twinkle in her eyes, "sure, wanna be part of it?"

Ziva smiles wolfishly, "count me in, whatever it is."

Joy laughs, "bring your paperclips, they might come in handy." The two women turn to Tony, who just looks from one woman to the other.

"I really don't wanna know what you are planning, do I?" says Tony.

Joy shakes her head no, and Tony sees McGee looking at Joy with adoring eyes.

"Sure, count me in," he says finally.

"Ok, Hope will contact you with details."

"Man, what a nightmare," says Tony, leaning back on his chair, defeated.

"What about the investigation on the shooting? How is it going?" Ziva is looking at Joy, who shakes her head no.

"The investigation is being done by the FBI under total lock and key, no one outside of the case is to be informed of any finding unless the Director himself says otherwise," she shakes her head, "we have nothing to do with its investigation, we can't interfere." She looks at McGee, "we're the victims in this crime, all we can to do is damage control."

At that moment, the elevator doors open and Matthew and Sarah come out of it and start walking towards the team.

Matt looks at McGee and at Joy, and nods, "Mission accomplished. How do you want to do this?"

Joy frowns for a second, thinking furiously, and McGee starts closing down his computer, getting ready to leave.

"McGee, give me your car keys," she finally says, and he goes through his pockets and finally throws her the keys to the Porsche, "you go to Abby's to pick up Sarah, and go straight to the lower level and leave the building by the Morgue. Matt, Temp, you get the cars and go to the morgue exit, Matt, you drive my car and McGee lays low in the backseat, while Temp drives her car with Sarah laying low in the backseat. When you see the frenzied movement of the cameras at the main gate, you leave, and don't stop until you reach Johnny's."

Matt studies his sister, "Where will you be while we make our exit?"

Joy boots down her computer, and glances at Gibbs and he sees a furious look on her face, "me? I'll be giving a press conference."


	28. Southwester

**Southwester**

Human nature is astonishingly simple to understand sometimes. We laugh, we bleed, we die. Each event is surrounded by its wonder, and sometimes our own curiosity leads us to stop and stare fascinated at the feeble attempts of life to survive another moment. That's the same instinct that makes us laugh first when someone slips and falls on the floor, and run to help the fallen only later when our consciousness whispers guiltily to our brains.

That's also the same instinct that makes drivers slow down when they drive by an accident. There is a shared sentiment of curiosity, of wanting to get a glimpse of those hurt (or dead), just to see how fragile life can be, and how it can sparkle for a moment, and suddenly, it is gone.

So, since the shootout at Waverly, said instinct to know, to touch the victims ruled the media. Each reporter wanted to have the unique insight of what the survivors (and the dead) saw in those moments of terror. They hounded the survivors, cajoled the relatives of the dead, and expected to some new fact to arise.

So, when a small TV crew got the break of what really happened in room 309, and that one of the survivors was somehow related to a federal agent, and that said agent had been on campus, they ran to catch up, trying desperately to top the other on their findings.

As a federal employee, his file (at least the official version of it) would be easily accessible by the Freedom of Information Act. His life was scrutinized, his school colleagues, both from MIT and John Hopkins, were tracked down, and his (almost non-existent) love life was carefully investigated.

The appearance of a very well-dressed man who claimed to be his father also stirred the curiosity of the journalists, but he was hurriedly taken inside the building, and then later on also in the same speed taken to a taxi and dispatched.

They camped at the gates, and waited. At some moment, someone had to come to talk to them and give them something to sink their teeth into. That's the power of the press, to feed the masses with too much information, and very little content.

Suddenly, there was some movement. Like a swarm of bees, the news crews started to move in a frenzy, hooking up their mikes and putting cameras on their shoulders.

Apparently, finally someone was coming out of the building they were laying siege to and was going to feed their need for knowledge. They bowed to the power of the press, and they would throw their agent to the wolves, only to protect the image of their agency.

They were very surprised when, instead of the tall agent they had researched a very short brunette came out of the building, and requested them to get organized so she might answer their questions.

They fell upon her like vultures, shouting their questions harshly at her, but she placidly stood before them, in silence, and lifted her hand, requesting silence. It was soon clear that she wouldn't answer until they got silent themselves. So they prepared their cameras, and started to roll the video.

"We're going to set up some ground rules for this press conference, and I expect you all to follow." They started shouting their questions, and she lifted her hand demanding silence. Once they quieted again, she kept on talking, "I will answer exactly ten questions prepared by you. You will raise your hand, and I will pick one journalist at a time. You, once chosen, will state your name and channel you work for, and you will state your question. If I deem your question worthy of an answer, I will answer it to the best of my ability," they started to talk again, and she lifted her hand, they shut up, "as long as it is not any information regarding the case that might put its investigation in jeopardy. I will also not answer any answer regarding the victims or the victim's relatives, or any survivors."

They started shouting, and she stopped talking, and lifted her hand, again demanding silence. After some minutes, they quieted down. "No negotiation on this point. Once this press conference is finished, you all will leave the Navy Yard and will not return to its gates, allowing the normal continuance of the work in its buildings, without press interference and disturbance. If any of you by any chance disrespect any of the conditions above, I will" there was a murmur of disagreement, but she continued talking "I will immediately terminate this press conference and you will stay without answers, and you will be forcibly removed from the premises of the Navy Yard by the Marines, and no other employee will come forth to speak to you."

She looked at the sea of cameras and mikes in front of her, "do you have any doubts about the conditions?"

The shouting started again, and she gazed placidly at the journalists and lifted her hand demanding silence.

"If you don't organize yourselves in one minute, I will leave and no other will come out, and all of you will be forcibly removed."

They quieted down.

"The American people have to right to know." Someone shouted in the back.

The agent turns burning brown eyes to the journalist.

"Excuse me, can you identify yourself?"

"Evan Jennings, WVTV, ma'am," the tall man spoke. He knew that most cameras were turned either to him or to the agent before him, so he fixed his jacket and insisted, "We have the right to report what happened."

"You are mistaken. The American people don't have the right to know." They started to shout questions, and she lifted her hand, demanding silence, and she stared at the journalist with cold eyes. He shivered before the intensity of her stare.

"The American people have the right to _heal_," she says, and everyone shuts up, "talking and examining exhaustively what happened will not heal the wounds opened by the acts of that young man. It will not bring back to life those who lost their lives, neither will it stop the tears of those who lost loved ones. Talking about what happened will not stop the nightmares of those who survived, and who have to live with the burden of having survived while so many others lost their lives."

"It will not soothe their panic attacks, neither erase the sound of the bullets hitting flesh, ending lives with so much potential, cut short on the brink of adulthood."

"So, Mr. Jennings," says Joy, furious at the callousness of that redneck reporter, "nothing I ever say here will erase the pain and anger of those who had to face that nightmare."

"Exposing the pain and the wounds of the survivors to all the word to see will reduce you to the same level of those who inflicted the wounds, and will turn you as evil as the shooter." She stares coldly at the journalist, "so I have to ask you, what gives you the right to wound those who are already hurt even deeper? What superior power granted you the divine access to explore their pain for your own profit?"

She stares at the other journalists, and they all see that she's furious at them, at their meddling ways and how they hurt the survivors and the victims' families.

"You have exactly ten questions, and I suggest you think very carefully before lifting your hand to question me, and if you demonstrate the same insensitive and callousness he demonstrated, towards the dead and specially the living, you ALL will not be escorted out of the premises, you will be arrested for disturbance of the peace and interfering with a federal investigation."

She stopped, and stared at the faces of some journalists, the ones closer to her, and saw that her message had been received loud and clear.

"You may begin," she said placidly.

Two hands in the back were raised, while the others stayed in silence.

"Your name, please, and your question, ma'am."

"I'm Joanne Lorstein, from…."

And while Joy spoke to the journalists, two cars left silently through the back gate of the Navy Yard, and sped up towards Norfolk, away from the hounds of the press, and the self-seeking bastard who was planning to attack them again.


	29. Southeaster

**Southeaster**

They drove south on the I-395 all the way to the Springfield junction, stopping at the first gas station on I-95. In it, they stopped the cars so Sarah could change cars and so McGee could sit in the front. Matthew collected the duffel bag from Temp's trunk and put it alongside the others in Joy's car trunk. He closed the trunk, and was attacked by a fierce hug from his littlest sister.

"You call when you get to Johnny's, ok?" Temp said, against his neck.

"I will," says Matt. They step apart, and they see that the McGees are watching them say goodbye.

Temp goes to the McGees and gives both siblings fierce hugs, and after reassurances that they would take care, she hopped in her own car, and went to the highway to start her return to D.C.

Matt turns to the McGees, and nods when he sees McGee's hand over his sister's shoulders, protectively. He starts walking towards the driver's seat again, and he has his way blocked by Tim.

"I'm driving," he says, and stretches out his hand, silently asks for the keys.

Matthew shakes his head, and says, "no, I'm driving."

"Listen, Matthew, I know we have our differences but I know the way to Norfolk better," insists Tim.

"No, you listen, Tim," says Matthew, totally serious, and looks Timothy in the eye, "I know you have no reason to trust me, or even like me, but, Sarah is scared, man," he glances at Sarah, who has her arms folded around herself, "and I thought you would prefer to sit with her in the back," Timothy sees no arrogance, just sincere concern for his little sister in Joy's little brother's face, "I know I would."

They study each other for a while, then McGee nods, and returns to his sister's side, and opens the door for her in the backseat. Once she's already sitting inside, he closes the door, goes around and sits on the other side, also in the backseat.

Once both McGees are on sitting on the backseat, Matthew goes to the driver seat, opens his own door, but he does his best to erase the smile from his face before entering the car.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Commander McGee was in his hotel room, watching the skirt his son was sniffing speaking on the television, about the right of the living to heal and to mourn their dead without the constant torture of the press, when he received the phone call he was expecting.

After the usual greetings both men went straight to business.

"Hey Mike, what did you come up with?" says Kieran, frowning at the brunette talking confidently in front of the cameras.

"It's a pretty interesting bunch of people your son got mixed up with," says Michael 'Mike' Murdock, well known mafia don and leader of one of the most powerful armed gangs in the greater New York area. He was rumored to have connections even in the DA's office, and has remained unscathed through various investigations both by the NYPD as well as the FBI. And apparently, he also had connections in the navy through one Commander McGee.

"An ex-marine, an ex-cop, a Mossad assassin, your geeky son and an ex FBI," says Mike, leaning back on his leather chair on his penthouse in NY.

"What can you tell me about them? What did you find?"

"My boys sniffed around, and what is more interesting is what _they didn't find_," says Mike.

"What do you mean?"

"The boss is the silent tough guy type, who rules over his agents as if they were a marine unit; exemplary records, receiver of one purple heart, has three ex-wives," both men laugh, as they also had to deal with exes, "he's a tough nut to crack, word on the street is that he's incorruptible."

"No one is incorruptible," says Kieran, "you taught me that."

Mike nods, even though Kieran can't see him, "yes, indeed."

"Any dirt we can use?"

"None that my boys could find," Mike said, and whenever he said his boys he meant his professional black hats, hackers who were hired specifically to dissect his targets' pasts and lives so he could manipulate them later on, "however, there are several gaps in his file, other parts are confidential, so we haven't been able to see it yet."

Kieran smiled, "yet?"

Mike smiles, "yet, we just have to keep digging."

"What about the others?"

"The ex-cop is a player, a grown-up frat boy, womanizer, we could easily trap him in a scandal as long as we use a pretty girl as bait; the Mossad one is interesting, just applied for American citizenship, but my boys are having a hard time sniffing around her file, the Israeli protect their own very carefully. But she is an assassin, so there is blood on her hands, we just have to know where to look."

"What about the Latina?" Kieran turns to the TV, and they are reprising Joy's interview. Again.

"Well," Mike laughs, "that's one interesting puppy," says Mike.

"why do you say that?"

"Because besides her name, and where she currently works, my boys couldn't find anything about her," says Mike.

"I don't understand, I thought you said your boys are the best…" says Kieran, just to be interrupted by Mike.

"My boys are the best, but you do not fully understand, Kieran," says Mike, "the moment my boys started to search for her file, alarm bells started ringing." Kieran stares at the TV, still showing the press conference.

"That woman's file has more levels of encryption than James Hoffa's, and my boys had to completely disconnect themselves from the web to avoid detections, as they were literally chased out of the servers."

"So she's hot goods," says Kieran with a broad smile.

"Yes," says Mike, looking at the skyline of NY from his ceiling to floor windows, "she's hot goods."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

_Meanwhile, in the bowels of the Pentagon…_

A junior Aide was running, not walking, towards the second sublevel office at the end of the corridor. He had a very sensitive matter on the folder he held tightly against his chest. Once he reached the marked door, he entered the office, and walked straight to the secretary.

"Is he in?" The secretary barely had the time to nod, before the aide ran to the door and entered unannounced.

"Sir?" said the Aide, shaking on his feet, but the information he had in his hand was too important to care for formalities, and the General wasn't a formal man by nature.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy?" The white haired man looks up from his newspaper, where he was struggling with the daily crosswords.

"Sir, he just entered unannounced," babbles the secretary, but the General looked at the aide, and saw barely contained panic on his eyes.

He leans back on his chair, "it's ok, go…" she starts to leave, "better yet, leave for an early lunch, take your time, and lock the door of the office when you leave." She nods, and leaves the Aide with the General.

Once they are alone, the General stared at the Aide, making him sweat.

"What is so important that you had to bother me, airman?"

The aide approaches the desk, and gives him the file.

"Dr. Buchanan from our Nevada base requested us to register any attempts to read or access some flagged down files, and to report if any of those accesses represented any danger to the people she had flagged down or for our project."

The General starts looking at the file, and mutters, "and?"

"Today, exactly 10:56 am local time, we had an invasion attempt sir. It was insidious, insistent, and very targeted."

"Did they access anything?"

"No, sir, we were able to stop them and counterattack, but they were very specific in their search sir."

"What they were looking for?"

The aide takes another step, and points to the file in his hand, "may I, sir?"

The General puts the file on the desk, and the aide starts ruffling the pages, until he arrives to one and points to a line on the paper.

The General starts sputtering and cursing fluently in several languages.

"Have you contacted anyone in the Mountain yet?"

"They are still on lockdown, until the threat is fully exterminated."

"Have you shown this to anyone? Besides me?"

"No sir, as soon as we verified the origin of the attack, I came looking for you immediately."

"Hot damn, Maggie will go ballistic about this," he shakes his head, and stands up, "send a marine squad, small, no more than ten men, to NY and eliminate the threat, from the bud, and report to me, directly, as soon as the mission is accomplished. Give me that file, I will inform Maggie's girls in the FBI to be prepared for a shitstorm," he gets his coat from a hanger, and starts to put it on, "erase all traces of the search, and ensure that no one else even breathe on those files."

He starts marching out of the office, with the airman following him close behind him.

"Yes, sir," says the aide.

"This is going to be the biggest shitstorm of all times," murmurs the General, as he leaves the office with the aide.


	30. Northeaster

**Northeaster**

After the emotionally exhausting press conference, Joy stayed at the main gate until all the press crews left, and she called up reinforcements in the form of a marine unit to ensure that no one stayed at it.

Only after the last TV van left, did she thank the marines and the guards of the gate, and returned to the building.

As soon as the doors of the elevators opened in the bullpen and she left the elevator, she was surprised by a wave of applause from every single agent on the floor. She looked around and everyone was clapping, from the delivery mail boy to Gibbs, who was standing by the plasma where a recording of the press conference was on. Again.

She walks towards their desks, and she looks confused at her team-mates, "what's the occasion?"

Gibbs just smirks, while DiNozzo and Ziva simply shake their heads, astonished.

"Occasion? Joy, you strolled in there and literally held them by their balls, it was a MasterCard moment!" says Tony.

"You dealt very well with the press, Joy," says Ziva, smiling at her team-mate.

Joy looks at Gibbs, not really expecting a compliment but some reaction from him, but he simply smirked, and said, "for a moment there, I was afraid you were going to deck that first journalist."

Joy smiles at Gibbs, "I got this close," she shows her indicator and her thumb close, almost touching, "to drawing my weapon and using him for target practice."

They smile at each other.

"Agent Buchanan," Vance calls out, coming down the stairs, until he stands by the agents looking at the plasma, "I have to admit I'm impressed with your ability to handle the press, I was just informed that all vans have left."

She smiles at the director, "I think I scared them, I was tempted to use my gun on them, and they knew that."

"Would you be willing to handle all NCIS press conferences from this day onwards?" asks Vance, but he's not surprised when she shakes her head no.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'd rather deal with a room full of psychopaths." She looks at the plasma, "at least I'm legally allowed to shoot them."

"When are you leaving?" Vance asks, and Joy walks to her desk, and starts getting her coat on and putting things in her purse.

"Now, I still have to pick up Jethro at McGee's place," she smiles, "the kids will be over the moon with a dog in the house," she cringes, "Lisa will hate it, but anyway," she turns smiling at her team-mates, "I will keep you posted on anything we find in Norfolk, and we will send any evidence through the local office."

"Good, and what about the other issue?" asks Vance, at the same time the elevator dings again, announcing the arrival of someone in the bullpen. Joy is looking for something in her bag, so she doesn't see who just entered the room.

"I'm waiting for word from Hope, she has a surveillance team on the Commander's ass, if he twitches we will know."

"He did more than twitching," says a familiar voice, and everybody turns to Faith Buchanan, Head of the White Collar Crime Section of the FBI and Joy's sister, who is looking at the agents with a very worried expression on her face.

"We have a problem," she says without preamble and Gibbs just sees Joy's shoulders lower under the strain of another problem coming their way.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joy's departure was delayed due to Faith's arrival, and the oldest Buchanan sibling insisted that they all should go to a more private setting so she could explain her findings.

So, that's why all Team Gibbs, including Abby, Palmer, and Ducky, were all sitting at the Director's conference table while Faith put in a CD with the compiled data to run.

She stood by the end of the table, beside Director Vance, and as she explained she glance at Joy, who had a deep frown on her face and was staring at the wall with a very lost expression.

She puts on a picture of a smiling beefy man, very well dressed with a very thick gold ring on his little finger of his left hand.

"That is Michael 'Mike' Murdock, don of the Cosseti, one of the cruellest mob crews in New York. He has evaded the FBI for years, as he has his own army of servants to do his deeds. We know he commands a huge web of traffic, either of people, influence, and drugs, and his main tool is blackmail and murder."

"It is rumored that he has not one, but several moles in the Judiciary System, as he's always ahead of any of our attempts against him. None of our previous warrants were able to bring us closer to his arrest, and all our witnesses who were willing to testify either died or disappeared, presumed dead."

"Why are you telling us that?" says Vance, looking at the plasma, then at Faith.

"Because our wires registered an incoming call from New York to Commander Kieran McGee, and after some creative research we were able to track it down to one of several penthouses owned by Mike's businesses. The content of the call was disturbing, but that's not the reason why I'm here." She looks at Joy, silently demanding her attention. Joy blinks, and turns to her sister.

"Exactly thirty minutes ago I received a visit from General Jonathon 'Jack' O'Neill, Brigadier General of the United States Air Force. He is one of mom's superiors on her projects in Nevada. At exactly 10:56 am this morning, they registered an organized hacking attempt to the Department of Defense archives," Joy's looking at her sister, without moving a muscle, "they were looking specifically for your file, and when they couldn't access it, they went after the family's."

Joy is breathing very slowly, trying to control her panic, and she has a very empty expression on her face.

"Did they get anything?" she says softly, but Faith shakes her head no.

"No, they caught a glimpse of the encryption levels, but they never really got in, but whoever organized the attack knows the existence of security levels on the file, and they have an idea that, whatever is in there, must be worth to peek at."

Faith looks at all sitting at the table, "mom also, just as a precaution, had flagged and ordered the increase of encryption levels on all your files, and the Pentagon registered, starting this morning at 10:30 am, several different attacks trying to access your files," Faith looks at Ziva, "expect a call from your father, Mossad voodoo is still one of the best, but not infallible, order all confidential material to be taken offline as soon as possible, as their attacks have diminished in intensity, but have not stopped since they started this morning."

"Who ordered the attacks?" asks Vance, in a controlled voice, trying to hide how deeply shaken he was inside. If this was a targeted attack, they were all in danger.

"The Pentagon immediately started their tracing, and even though they went offline very fast to cover their tracks, their white hats were able to trace it back to six different hackers who are directly employed by" she points to the screen, "the one and only 'Mike' Murdoch."

"He planned it, but why?" asks Jimmy, looking at the man at the plasma. What secrets could his life possibly have that would interest a mobster?

"Leverage," said Gibbs, looking at his team and surrogate family, "accessing our files he could study our accomplishments and in some cases," he looks at Ziva, who refuses to catch his eye, "our weaknesses and failures, and he can plan better how attack us where it hurts the most."

"But why?" insists Jimmy, "I had never even heard of this man before, never even been in New York, why would he investigate my life?"

"Because Commander Kieran McGee told him so," says Joy, softly. She looks at Faith, and stands up to look at her sister, "he contacted Mike to investigate us, to gather information so he could be better prepared to attack us, regardless of how close we are to McGee, we're all targets."

"But we're aware of his intentions, so we can prepare for whatever he throws at us. Isn't that a good thing?" asks Vance, but he sees Faith shaking her head, and Joy lifts her hands and runs shaking hands through her hair, messing up with the curls.

"Sir, there's no good side of it. You're not seeing the whole picture," says Joy, looking, frustrated, at the Director.

"Director Vance," says Faith, after she glances at her sister, who is this close the boiling point, "I think you've forgotten a very little but important detail."

"What detail?" DiNozzo pipes up, still not seeing the whole picture.

"He's Timothy's father," says Joy, defeated.

"I don't understand, would that be a problem?" says Abby, who until now had remained uncharacteristically quiet.

"Conflict of interest," says Gibbs, finally seeing the reason for Joy's despair. She turns to him and nods.

"I still don't follow, Jethro." Says Ducky.

"If we take down Commander McGee," says Faith.

"Not if, when," says Ziva, with her anger simmering on her voice.

"When we take down Commander McGee, if his connections to the Mafia become common knowledge, it will be a career killer for Timothy," says Faith.

Every single person in the Director's office shuts up, and thinks about the problem.

"It is a common rumor that Mike has connections in the law enforcement and in the DA's office, if we arrest Commander McGee due to his mafia connections, there is no big leap to assume that the Commander's son was also into it, and was working as a mole," says Faith.

"But that's a lie!" shouts Abby, defending her friend, "Timmy would never do it."

"Abby," says Joy, tiredly, "I know that, you know that, but the court won't know that. We have to prove it, and that's the tricky part, because depending how deep the dirt on Tim's father is," says Joy, just to be interrupted by her sister, "it wouldn't be difficult for them to forge incriminating evidence proving that Timothy was as involved as his father."

"If it comes to that, they will install an internal affairs committee and will question every single case worked by the team that McGee was part of, and every single piece of evidence ever presented on court by McGee will lose its value."

Gibbs rubs his face with his hands, as he thinks of the staggering effects that would have on his team and on his work.

"Our cases pending a court decision will be put on hold, until all evidence is checked and rechecked again, and they will open a possible way out for those which have already been judged, as the defense lawyers will order their cases reopened and the evidence re-examined," he says, looking at Vance, who can't control the horror from creeping onto his face.

"That would be the end of NCIS, or at least a very strong hit that we wouldn't shake it in a very long time," he says, looking at Faith and Joy, who nod in agreement.

"But that's years of our work," says Tony, looking horrified from Gibbs to Vance, then to Faith, "They can't do that, can they?"

"They can, and they would," says Faith, "I've seen that done before, too many good men taken down by a sleazy bastard just because they happened to share the same DNA. Even if we in the end prove it that he had no connections to his father's deeds, the process and the doubt will crush him and he would never be the same, and probably wouldn't be able to hold a position in any Federal Agency ever again. The shame and the cloud of doubt would always follow him, wherever he goes."

"And," says Joy, staring fixedly at the floor, trying to control her breathing, "that would destroy him, he loves being a Fed, he loves NCIS, it would kill him, slowly, deeply and painfully," she lifts her eyes, and looks at her sister, "that's exactly the kind of problem that he doesn't need right now."

"Then we have to do something," says Abby, defending her resident geek, "we can't let his father stroll into his life and turn everything upside down."

"Indeed, my dear Abby," says Ducky, patting Abby's twitching hand over the table, "but whatever we do," he looks at Gibbs, "we must be extremely careful not to create repercussions that might endanger either Timothy's or anyone else's career."

Faith nods, and they all stay in silence once again, trying to find a way out of the deep well they all found themselves in.

"It's never easy, is it, sis?" says Faith looking at Joy, who is staring blankly ahead deep in thought, her brilliant mind working different scenarios and possibilities.

"Has anyone told mom about this yet?"

"No, still under lock and key in Norad."

Joy frowns, and asks, "What is Uncle Jack's take on this?"

Faith sighs, "he dispatched marine units to the hacker's last known locations, and they have orders to locate and terminate."

Vance frowns at that order, "is that really necessary?"

Faith shakes her head, "With all due respect, Director, they tried to hack the Pentagon, they accessed highly sensitive material on the Department of Defense servers and then attacked your personnel files, yours included. Do you really want to let these guys walk?"

Vance frowns, thinking about what could be found on his file, "I agree with the need to locate them, but perhaps…"

"No buts, Director," says Joy, firmly, "the work we do at NCIS is important, no questions about it, but the work that our mom does is…" she glances at Faith, then at Vance again, "sir, my mom's work is for presidential eyes only, General O'Neill is personal councillor of the Joint Chiefs, we can't afford for this type of information to fall in the wrong hands."

She shakes her head, and whispers, "we can't."

"I still do not agree with the General's decision of sending a tactical team to NY," says Vance.

"Oh, please Director," says Joy, as she turns to stare him in the eye, "you didn't arrive at the desk you have today by being nice. I'm sure that there are plenty of incidents in your personal file that you'd rather never have them see the light of the day, and neither to be exposed to the eyes of any of us in this room. Now imagine it, a mobster from NY was sniffing around it, and he wants to use it against you. He won't stop on the first attempt, now that his curiosity has been aroused, he will continue until some breach is found. And then," she stand right in front of him, looking at him, "_your_ secrets will be _his_. Are you really willing to let that happen?"

Vance stared at his agent's face for one very long minute, considering his options and his own past. She was right, _there were_ several circumstances in his file that he'd rather bury as deep as possible, and the possibility of someone sniffing around was chilling, to say the least. But to take such drastic measures, he was the Director of NCIS, for Christ's sake!

He turns to Faith, and says, "tell your General that I want to be kept in the loop of the operation he's commanding, and I want to receive a report of the acts done."

"We can tell him that, but I can't guarantee that he will tell you anything he doesn't want you to know," says Faith. She looks at Joy, "he will handle the problem in the best possible way on his side, the cyber attacks and the mob connection, but he expects us to plug the problem on our end, we have to deal with the commander."

"What, the General had no suggestions?" asks Ziva, interrupting the sisters. She studies both Buchanans, "he seems to be very proactive in his thinking, certainly he would have a contingency plan on how we should deal with the Commander."

Faith smiles at the Israeli, "he has several plans," then turns to Joy, studying her sister, who is frozen in the middle of the room staring at the picture on the plasma, "but he told me that he would interfere only if we couldn't deal with the Commander, as he's OUR problem, not his. The possibility of someone accessing our flagged files he can handle and crush, but he thinks that we would like to have something to sink our claws into. That's why he told me to come talk to all of you and consult Joy."

Joy blinks, and turns to her sister, "me?" Faith nods, "why me?"

Joy smiles at her younger sister, "you, of all of us, are the one closest in mindset to Mom. He said that your strategic thinking is better than several Generals he met in his work, and he damn well wished you'd heard him when you were younger and had opted for the Air Force, not the FBI. He said you would have become a colonel in no time at all, and a General some years later."

Joy smiles, "I don't think the Air Force could deal with a Buchanan as a Colonel, much less as a General. They already have to deal with mom on a daily basis." Both sisters grin at each other, but Joy turns to stare again at the plasma again.

"Tell me about Commander McGee," she says, and Faith starts spilling all that her research and Hope's surveillance team were able to dig up.

"Commander Kieran McGee, second generation navy, first wife was Marianne McGee, who divorced him after fourteen years of an unhappy marriage. Two children were born during this period, Timothy, and nine years later Sarah. Parallel to that, he collected a very long line of lovers, culminating in Irene McGee, nee Lee Hugues, who married the Commander a mere six months after his divorce. By then, they had already had a child, four year old James Lee McGee. James grew up to follow in his father's footsteps, joining the Navy as soon as he graduated from High School. He's currently assigned to USS Paul Hamilton, in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii."

She clicks her remote, and another picture of Kieran McGee comes up on the plasma, "he's known as a hard taskmaster. His tendency to harshly reprimand lower ranking officers lead him to receive the nickname of 'Terminator', as several of his subalterns either quit the Navy, or requested transfer to some other department, after just a few months of his supervision."

"The second marriage also did not last long, as Irene McGee requested the divorce after five years, and requested and was granted custody of their only son."

"That's why he's so insistent on having Sarah back," says Ducky, and everyone turns to him, "he lost his only puppet, he needs someone on which he can enforce his need of control and manipulation, and it was taken from him."

"But we won't give him the chance to have it back, not Sarah," says Joy, frowning at the picture, "what else?"

"He is fond of Scotch, sixteen year old malt, straight, no ice, and he's very passionate about his Orchidaceae collection."

Joy frowns at Faith, and Vance asks, "How did you access that information?"

Faith smiles at the NCIS director, "Don't ask, but Hope has her ways, we're better off not knowing how."

Vance looks at the plasma, and says to Joy, "after this nightmare is over, remind me to offer a position in our counterintelligence unit to your sister, she would be a great addition to us."

Joy snickers, and Faith shakes her head, "good luck in trying to pry her out of the FBI, they will put up a hell of a fight, now," Faith's smile gets bigger, "do you want to know the color of his PJs, or can we continue?"

"I'd rather plan how to nip this cancer in the bud," says Gibbs, standing up and starting to pace in Vance's office, "we have to take him down but still not put in danger McGee's or our careers," he stops and stares at his team-mates, "we can't let him win on this."

"He won't," says Ziva, "if you wish, I could go have a talk to him and _convince_ him that he's much better off keeping his claws away from McGee."

"No," says Joy, "regardless of how efficient your abilities might be, he knows who you are, he knows you are Mossad, he would be expecting such reaction and he might use it to his advantage."

"We need someone he has never met, but enticing enough to catch his eye and use as bait," says Faith.

Both sisters freeze, then slowly turn to each other and grin, "Hope!" they say at the same time.

"What are you planning?" Tony wants to know, and he's fascinated to see the Buchanan sisters working together.

Joy turns to glare at the plasma, where Kieran's picture is still on, "fetch Hope on him, tell her to give him rope, lots of rope, and when he's deep enough under her spell," she turns to look at Gibbs, who can see the fury burning bright in his agent, "_hang_ him and _leash_ him, and make it clear that we won't tolerate him making threats to anyone of our family, neither our extended family and if he dares come near to any of us, well," she takes a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"That's blackmail, Agent Buchanan," says the Director.

"No, Director, that's survival," says Joy, turning her hands into tight fists, "I will not stand by while someone threatens me or any of mine, and if he dares hurt Timothy again, there will be no hole in this entire world where he might hide, because _I will find him_, and _he will pay_ for that."

Everyone stares at Joy, who after her passionate speech looks around at the astonished faces of those present, and at the smirks both in Gibbs' and Faith's faces.

"Damn, you sound like Maggie," says Gibbs, with a huge smile on his face.

"I have to agree with him, for a moment I thought mom was in the room," says Faith.

"So," Tony stands up from his chair and looks from one sister to the other, "now that we have decided what to do, what will we here," he points to the team, Ziva, Ducky, Abby and Palmer, "do while Hope ropes the Commander in?"

Both sisters look at each other, and grin, "prepare for battle, of course," says Faith.


	31. Bura

**_Bura_**

Matthew stops Joy's car in front of a nice suburban house. It is a nice sized one, painted in bright yellow with white doors and window trims, with a very nice tended garden. A wooden horse lays on its side on the grass in the front yard.

They park the car and Matthew goes straight to a huge pot plant beside the front door, and starts digging into it. After some seconds and he finds the extra key, they open the door, and take the bags inside.

"Welcome Chez Johnny's," says Matt in a fake French accent, "the kitchen is down the corridor, we should take the bags upstairs."

McGee carries his and Sarah's bags upstairs, and Matthew carries his and his sister's.

"Here, there are two empty guests rooms, Priscilla's pink room and Jake's, then Lisa's."

"You may take the two guests rooms, I will bunk with Jake."

McGee turns to Matthew, "and Joy?" he asks, and Matthew smiles and drops her duffle bag by his feet, "it's up to you man, but I can bet she doesn't want to share with Priscilla." He smirks at the older McGee, and walks to his nephew's door.

Sarah takes her bag from her brother, goes to her assigned bedroom and sits on the bed, and glides her hand over the soft colored quilt on top of it. It is a nice room, with the window facing the backyard, with delicate white curtains flowing with the breeze.

After a second of hesitation, McGee takes his and Joy's bag to the other room, and drops them on the king sized bed inside. He looks around, and sees that he's in a small but comfortable suite, with an adjacent bathroom, and, if the number of pictures on the dresser is any indication, this is the room both Maggie and Joseph use when they are visiting.

He sits down and sighs tiredly, and falls on his back on the comfortable bed.

"Dad, you really know how to mess up with my life," he mutters as he closes his eyes for a second. He falls asleep without even noticing.

"Wanna grab something to eat?" Matt asks Sarah, popping his head inside the room, and finds her staring through the window with a lost air. "Hey," she looks at him.

He looks down the corridor, towards the door where Timothy entered, but didn't come out yet. Matt enters the bedroom, and sits down besides Sarah.

"Everything will be ok, you will see, my sisters will sort out this mess with your father in no time," Matt says, reassuringly, but Sarah is not buying it.

"But they shouldn't, it is not their problem, it's our problem, our dad, we should never impose such a burden on you."

"But it's not a crime to ask for help when you need it," says Matthew, "especially if it is freely offered."

"Why?" whispers Sarah.

Matthew frowns down at her, and she continues, "why would you freely offer help, after all I've done to you?"

Matthew opens and closes his mouth for a moment, as his mind tries to come up with a convincing explanation, one which would not necessary lead to his confession of his undying love for the beautiful young McGee and his being mortally embarrassed.

"Sarah," he starts, but she's not done yet, "I've hurt you Matthew," she looks him in the eye, and for the first time she acknowledges the pain she caused him, "I was scared, but that's no excuse for the way me and my brother treated you, or your family, because every single one of you have been nothing but helpful to us."

She lowers her head to her chest, deeply ashamed, and her hands are twisting on her lap, nervously.

Matt studies her for a second, and stretches out his hand and takes one of her hands in his, and starts tracing the faint lines and veins in it with his forefinger.

"Have I ever told you how my dad convinced my mom to marry him?"

"No," and she takes he shoes off, and folds one of her legs under herself, and prepares herself to hear a good story.

Matt smiles down at her, and starts his tale:

"Dad had just received his first wings when he was selected to be a test pilot on a secret base, somewhere in Montana. At that time, the war had just finished and the cold war was beginning."

"Mom had just finished her Engineering degree, and had become the one of the very first woman Engineers to work directly in R&D for the Air Force. Of course, the fact that she was the daughter of the General who was in command of the base helped her a lot."

"Maggie's father was a General?" asks Sarah, smiling.

"Yep, and mom already had that spitting nails attitude, as she succeeded in Academics in an area solely dominated by men. She did not hesitate in intimidate the pilots of the test planes, and she told them that if any of them tried to talk to her, or joke about her behind her back, she would program their airplanes to explode in the air."

Sarah laughs wholeheartedly, thoroughly enjoying Maggie's attitude.

"Dad says that, when he reported to duty, he was told not ever to mess with, look at or even think about the General's daughter, because it would be the end of his career and they would never find his body, as probably she would arrange to have it thrown out in the desert for the jackals."

Sarah keeps laughing.

"Anyway, one fine day, she visits the barracks to receive the reports on the last tests, and dad said that meeting her was the equivalent of a speeding train colliding with a parked car, an unmitigated disaster. He started to sweat, his eyesight started to darken, and he couldn't put one word after the other. He almost fainted. And he was sure that she left thinking that he was brain damaged."

Sarah is wiping her eyes, she is laughing so much.

"Anyway, dad knew he had no chance, but that didn't stop him from worshipping her from afar. He would leave a rose on her desk early in the morning, memorize how she took her coffee and arrange to have it delivered to her whenever she was working late at night, or, if he noticed that she stood in high heels the whole day, he would leave a small perfumed salt bag, with instructions on how to use it in hot water to relieve her tired feet."

"He did all that anonymously, as there would be no end of teasing if anyone found out, but he always treated her with respect, not leering at her whenever she walked by, as the other airmen did, and whenever one of the others spoke of her, or gossiped about her, he would defend her. His mates thought him hopeless." Matt smiles, and looks at Sarah, "Dad considered himself hopeful."

"On Valentine's day, he took the plunge and asked her to be his date for the base's Valentine's ball. She politely declined, saying that she already had a date, arranged by her father. She considered him only another airman, like many others in the base. He accepted defeat gracefully, and left, but Mom said that he couldn't completely hide his nervousness and hope, neither his hurt, when she dismissed him."

"She started paying attention him then, and she noticed that he acted differently from the other airmen. She started to talk with him, and found him to be an interesting man, and they became friends."

"Then Mom was kidnapped," Sarah gasps, horrified, and Matt turns to her and nods, "yes she was: apparently someone wanted in on the projects being developed, and knew mom's routine, and took her on her way home from the base to her dad's house. When she didn't arrive home that night, it was a whole nightmare, as the whole base started to look for her desperately. Search teams were dispatched, and of course dad participated in it. They called, saying that they would kill her if they did not give them the specifications of the latest weapon being developed. The General, Maggie's father, despaired but refused to fold to them."

"What happened then?"

"Dad broke into mom's office, stole the specifications, and went himself to deliver it to the kidnappers." Sarah gasps, horrified.

"The General went ballistic, of course, when he found out and ordered him court -martialled, if he got out alive."

"He went to the delivery point, and he ordered to be taken to Maggie first, or the specifications would be destroyed: he had buried the documents and put a timer bomb on top, so only he knew where it was, and if anyone tried to dig it up, they would go to kingdom come. The kidnappers agreed, and took him to Maggie."

"Your father was very brave," says Sarah.

"My father was very desperate," says Matt, shaking his head. "He knew that the chances of Maggie being released were close to zero if they ever got their hands on the papers, so he literally cooked up an escape plan out of nowhere, and tried to escape with her."

"Did he succeed?"

"Well, yes, but barely alive, he was shot in the escape, and Maggie had to drag him the rest of the way. The search and rescue teams found them, Maggie screaming over a bleeding Joseph, barely alive, a couple of hours later, in the desert."

"When the General came to visit him in the hospital a couple of days later, to inform him that he would be dishonorably discharged and that he would be court -martialled, he dismissed that, and simply asked if Maggie was safe, if she was fine. Nothing else mattered to him, his career, his future, all he wanted to know was if she had been injured in any way."

"Finally the General asked why he did that, why did he stake his career on a crazy rescue, that almost cost his life. Dad told him that nothing else mattered. His life would have no meaning without the assurance that Mom was alive, somewhere, breathing. He was completely aware that he had no chance with her, and that the General would never consider him as a son-in-law, but he was desperately in love with her and, if, just to assure that she could live another day, he would have to sacrifice his life, he would do it, in the blink of an eye."

Sarah is not laughing anymore, and her eyes are filled with tears as Maggie and Joseph's story starts to sound painfully familiar to her ears.

Matt turns her hand in his, and fits her fingers between his, "Sarah," his voice was quivering, "that day, the General ordered the court martial cancelled and promoted dad," he looks up, and smiles at her, "later on, Mom and Dad started dating, and after some ups and downs, they got married, and started to have us."

"What I'm trying to say here, is…" he looks totally serious at her, "that day, at Waverly," he shakes his head, "if I had to stand between you and the shooter, I would have. Gladly."

A small tear escapes, and starts running down Sarah's face, and Matt hurries to catch it, but it touches her lip and he dries it with his thumb, wetting her lips with it.

"I know that, for some reason, I might have lost my chance with you, but I just want you to know that, regardless of what you think you need, all I have to offer for you is me. My whole self, my love, my body, my life if necessary. I have nothing else to give, but if you think that's not enough," he sighs, and lets go of her hand, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry for all the pain I've caused you."

He stands up, and turns to leave the room, leaving her to her own doubts and fears. He gets the door open, before she stops him.

"Matt?" He freezes.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry too, for hurting you, for scratching you, and for fighting with you, when you just did what you did to save my life."

Matt doesn't turn around, but says softly, "You're forgiven." He opens the door, and leaves.


	32. Meltemi

_**Meltemi**_

Timothy sighs, and slowly wakes up, as he hears a door shutting violently downstairs. He opens his eyes, and as he looks up he frowns, as he doesn't remember putting glow in the dark figures on the ceiling of his bedroom.

He lifts his head from the bed, and looks around, and finds himself in a strange room. He closes his eyes as he remembers, the case, the shooting, his father, SARAH.

He stands up abruptly, and his legs are still feeling the effects of sleep and he stumbles and falls on the floor.

"Tim?" Sarah calls out from the corridor, "are you ok?"

He works some feeling back in his legs, and he supports his hands on the bed to stand up, "Yeah, I'm fine."

When he is sure he can stand up without tumbling on his own legs, he goes to the door and opens it, just to find his sister standing outside in the corridor, looking at him with a worried expression on her face, "Lisa arrived, and they are preparing some sandwiches, come on."

The McGees go downstairs, and find little Priscilla playing with Matthew with Legos in the living room. Sarah smiles, as she sees the tenderness he has with the five year old, explaining how to build a castle with the pieces.

"Hello," a short redhead with a pixie hair and face approaches the McGees, with a hand stretched out, "I'm Lisa Buchanan, Johnny's wife, I remember you from the hospital," she says.

"Yes, when Joy was hospitalized in Charlottesville," says Tim.

"Come on over, I've prepared some tuna and pastrami sandwiches, I hope you like it, we're having a big dinner tonight," she turns to Matt and Priscilla, "Pri, please go wash your hands, we're eating, same thing for you Matt."

Priscilla looks at her uncle, and stretches out her hand, giggling "we have to wash our hands not to have cooties, that's bad."

The adults laugh, and Matt pretends to be dragged to the small washbasin by the five year old.

"Follow me," says Lisa.

After eating some sandwiches, Timothy turns to Lisa to ask for their wireless connection, as he wants to plug in his laptop.

"Wireless, no way, too insecure, we have a landline." She looks down at his laptop, smiles at him and suggests, "and I think you could use Jake's workstation, I believe you would enjoy it better than your toy there."

Timothy looks down to his Toshiba A300, a basic standard laptop given by NCIS to their agents.

He follows Lisa upstairs, and she leads him to Jake's room, as they enter it, McGee doesn't notice the two twin beds on it, one with Matt's duffle bag opened on it, or the sports posters and the collectable action figures on a small stand, or the acoustic guitar hanging from a support on the wall, besides a poster of Eric Clapton, playing his guitar.

All Tim's attention was on the state of the art Mac workstation set up on the corner, complete with six – Tim counted again, there were six - flat plasma screens, all that with a top of the line Apple processor.

Timothy didn't even hear Lisa explaining that Jake had mentioned to Maggie that he was thinking of studying computer programming to design video games, and Maggie, in her excess, ordered the workstation custom built and sent to him as a birthday present.

Tim slowly approaches it, and touches the keyboard reverently, and almost moans with pleasure when the computer boots silently, and all six plasma screens come to life.

"You like it, Tim?"

Tim is at a loss for words, and only nods. He touches the infrared mouse, and tests it, and looks at the computer adoringly.

"We have optic fiber connection, with a very high speed, and if you need cryptography to send your files," she points to something in the screen, and McGee clicks on it, and a very advanced encryption program opens up, "you can use this. The whole family uses it."

"Lisa," he whispers.

"Yes, Tim," Lisa says, almost laughing out loud at his face.

"I love your family."

"Heheh, sure you do." She taps his shoulder, and starts to leave.

"No, I really mean it," Lisa starts to laugh, and closes the door after herself, leaving McGee adoring the very advanced piece of technology he has in his hands.

"Boys and their expensive toys."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

_Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
Well, I wanna drive it all night long___

Through all these cities an' all these towns  
It's in my blood an' it's all around  
I love you now like I loved you then  
This is the road an' these are the hands  
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights  
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights

Joy was driving down to Norfolk with Jethro the dog in McGee's Porsche, singing along at the top of her lungs.

_Life is a highway  
I wanna ride it all night long  
If you're going my way  
Well, I wanna drive it all night long_

She looks at Jethro the Dog, and smiles when she sees the sloppy doggie smile he has on his face, with his nose out of the window on the small gap she opened, just to let some air in. She also put the seat belt on him, just for precaution. You never know.

"We have to put down some ground rules, Jethro," says Joy.

Jethro turns to her and barks.

"Lisa has two kids, Priscilla, she just turned five, and Jacob, who is in his surly teen years."

Jethro whines at her.

"Priscilla is the baby, she will want to play with you. You will not scare her, you will not slobber over her, you will be on your best behavior, or otherwise Lisa will not let you sleep in the house, ok?" She change lanes, and keeps driving.

Jethro barks.

"So, she might pull your ears a little , and ask to ride on your back, I don't know, we'll have to play it by ear."

Joy keeps driving, staring ahead and bobbing her head to the rhythm of the country music blasting from the speakers.

"Jake is more complicated, he's in that phase that he pretends he's not interested in anything, even if he is dying to do something." She glances at Jethro, who yawns widely.

"He will be ecstatic at having a dog on the house, but he won't show. So, approach him with care, and he will warm up to you."

Joy sees the exit to Norfolk coming up in the interstate, and rings McGee. She lowers the volume of the radio as soon as he answers.

"Hey,"

"Hey," he says in a soft voice.

"I'm almost there, wanna meet up with me?"

"Yeah," he still says in a soft voice.

"Do you know the park where they play the junior league games? Can you meet me there in, let's say," she overtakes a slower car, and changes lanes, "twenty minutes?"

"Yeah," Tim says again.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong with you?"

He doesn't answer; just whispers, "wow," and Joy can hear him typing in the background.

Joy smiles, "you found Jake's Mac."

"Yeah," more typing.

"Will I need a crowbar to pry you away from that?"

"Yeah." She can't help it, she laughs.

"Now I know what gift to give you on your birthday," she says.

"Yeah," more typing.

Joy keeps laughing, and shouts, "meet me in twenty, I will be the one with the red rouged nipples dancing naked on the barbecue tables in the park."

She disconnects.

McGee was about to answer again, when his brain finally registered what she said, but when he tried to say something, she had already disconnected.

"What?"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS


	33. Pampero

**Pampero**

Joy parks the Porsche and gets Jethro out, putting him on the leash, and walks towards the baseball game.

Little Rick was sitting on the reserve bench, and sometimes he would look towards the seats, where his mom would wave for him.

"Hey, loser, it's your turn," says one of the pitchers, calling him to the base.

He takes his bat, and walks slowly towards the base, hearing slurs from the other team all the time.

"Hey, little girl, let's see if you can even see our ball!" shouts one boy from the other team.

Rick raises his bat, and gets ready to play.

"GO RICKY!" a female voice shouts, and there is a bark accompanying her shout.

He looks at the benches, and the special agent from the other day is there, cheering for him, with a tall man by her side and a dog, barking excitedly.

"Ready to play?"

Ricky smiles, "yeah."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After a very tense game, Ricky's team won. The kids were all cheering, and Rick turned to the benches, where his mother had approached the agents, and waved.

Once Joy saw that Rick was coming towards her, she leaned down and whispered something in the ear of the German shepherd, and released the leash. The dog went running towards Rick, jumping and slobbering all over him, and making a doggie party.

Rick simply laughed, and fell to the ground, hugging the dog and scratching behind his ears.

"Thank you very much," says Lannie, Veseley's widow, "I can't remember when Rick last laughed like that. Thanks for coming watch the game."

"It was a pleasure, it was a nice game," says McGee.

"Have you found anything new about my husband's killer?" Lannie says, and the toddler in her arms puts his head on her shoulder, blinking sleepily, holding a purple dinosaur in its tiny fists.

"That's actually why we would like to talk to you," starts Joy, but she shuts up when she see a man approaching them.

"Hey Lannie," the stranger calls out.

"Hi, Malcolm, please come here," she turns to the agents, "this is Malcolm Beckinsale, he was helping Lawrence coach the baseball team."

She turns to her friend, "these are Agents Joy Buchanan and Timothy McGee, from NCIS," they shake hands with him, "they are investigating Lawrence's murder."

"Really," says Malcolm, looking both agents, becoming interested with this piece of news, "so, have you found anything to bring his murderer to justice?"

McGee smiles politely, "not yet, we're still in the investigation phase."

A car horn sounds twice, and a woman's voice shouts, "MAL, WE'RE LEAVING." The adults turn to the car, and see a dark blue SUV, and a cute buxom blonde is in the driver's seat, with a small boy sitting behind.

"My wife," says Malcolm, "gotta go," he turns to Lannie, "call us if you need anything, Lannie, we'll keep in touch," and he runs to the blue SUV, hops in the passenger seat and leaves.

"Lawrence and Malcolm organized the carpool to take the kids to games or for an ice cream," says Lannie, with a sad smile. The agents start walking, and Lannie calls out to Rick, who runs closer happily followed by Jethro.

"Special Agent Joy, you brought your guard dog!" says Ricky, breathless.

Joy laughs, "he's not a guard dog, he's a drug dog."

"Drug dog?"

"Yes," says Timothy, and he messes up with Rick's hair, "he was trained to find drugs, which is fine because," he looks at Jethro the dog, that now had laid down on the floor and had all four legs up, and was twisting its body begging to be patted on his belly. Rick, of course, happily complied, and Tim adds, "he would be completely useless as a guard dog."

Jethro whines, and opens his mouth and lets his tongue hang outside, while Rick rubs his belly.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After some insisting from Tim and Joy, and some begging from Ricky, Lannie and her children accepted the invitation to visit the Buchanans' home in Norfolk.

There, she was introduced to Lisa, Johnny's wife, and Lannie and Lisa immediately connected, over their worries about mortgages and school bullying.

Joy and Tim left the two mothers to talk alone a little bit, and were relieved to see Lannie finally relaxing. Her little toddler, Carson, was playing excitedly in the backyard with Priscilla, both running after Jethro, who was basking in all the attention devoted to him. Matt and Sarah were sitting outside, watching the two little children and keeping an eye on the dog, ensuring that he wouldn't be too rough with the baby, but Jethro the dog would placidly lay down and let the baby crawl all over him.

Jacob Buchanan, known as Jake, arrives with a thud of the door, and is introduced to Rick by his Aunt Joy. She suggests he take Rick to see his computer, and to play a little bit online, and despite their age differences – Rick is eight, and Jake is fourteen – both promptly agree and rush upstairs to start battling with dragons in Dungeons and Dragons.

After sharing a cup of coffee and a small piece of carrot cake, Lisa leaves Tim and Joy with the widow, and goes to check on the boys.

"Mrs. Veseley," starts Tim, just to be interrupted by Lannie.

"Lannie, please," she smiles, "Mrs. Veseley is my mother-in-law."

"Lannie," starts Tim again with a kind smile, "were you aware that your husband collected Comics?"

"Comics?" she looks, confused, at the agents, "yes, he adored them, he even got mad at Rick for taking some of them to school, but…" she looks at Joy, "is this somehow related to his death?"

"Lannie, Mr. Veseley… Lawrence, your husband, was a top of the line collector. He had some of the most coveted editions ever published and he was slowly selling his pieces during the last three years," says Joy gently.

"Were you aware of that?" asks Tim, looking at her face, looking for any evidence of false surprise, but she seemed genuinely shocked.

"Selling his comics? But … are they worth any money? He usually hid them, because Rick basically ransacked the attic looking for them some months ago."

"Did Rick mention these comics to anyone?"

"No, Lawrence urged Rick to promise him not to tell a soul, because that would be his legacy to him," she shakes her head, "I never understood the connection those two had, since Rick was a baby, Lawrence would sit down on his bed, whenever he put him to bed, and read the same comics over and over again with him, until both of them had the story memorized. Lawrence told me his father would do the same thing to him, and that's why he kept the comics so carefully."

She looks confused at the two agents before her, who are looking at each other, as if deciding how much to tell her.

"Lannie," starts Joy, and turns to the widow, "we checked your alibi and we're spoken extensively to people who could corroborate it, we're confident that you have nothing to do with your husband's death, and that's why you have to know this," Joy makes a pause, and looks the widow in the eye, "Lawrence sold eight comics in the last three years, and in just eight sales he accumulated a net worth of two hundred eighty five thousand dollars."

Lannie gasps, "but… what… how…"

McGee leans towards her, and supports his elbows on his knees, and continues, "He was in contact with the top five collector's of the country, and he was negotiating the sale of the rest of his collection. If he had stayed alive to finish it, with the great pieces he has, he could easily have reached one million dollars.

Lannie is breathing harshly, "I had no… I …" her eyes fill with tears, and she looks at the female agent, broken-hearted.

Joy stands up, and sits beside her, and takes her hand and squeezes it in her own, "Lannie, that's a lot of money for a simple petty officer to have, and he was bound to have had someone watching, or at least aware of what he was doing, so I have to ask you again, did anyone else know about Lawrence's collection?"

Lannie shakes her head no.

"Did you ever mention his comics to anyone?"

Lannie shakes her head no in shocked silence.

"Did anyone ever ask you about Lawrence habits or quirks, or did you mention his reading habits with Rick to anyone outside your family?"

Again, Lannie's answer is negative.

Joy sighs, and nods. She looks at Tim, silently asking if there's anything else he wants to add to the interview.

"Lannie, on the day of the murder, did you notice anything different about the way Lawrence acted? Was he nervous, worried, sad, anything out of character?"

"As I told your Agent Gibbs," she glances at Joy, who nods, "Lawrence seemed a little worried, but that's probably because he had to oversee a big incoming shipment arriving in one week, he was always worried about the last minute details. He was a very perfectionist man, my Lawrence."

"Anything else that seemed a little odd?" Tim is looking at the widow, "a word, a sentence, anything that you might remember?"

"No," she shakes her head, then slowly frowns, "yes," she glances at Tim, "one day, after arriving with Ricky from a game, he told me not to wash Ricky's uniform."

Joy frowns at that, and glances at Tim, then back at Lannie, "why?"

"He never told me," says Lannie, "he took the dirty uniform and went out for a while, and when he came he didn't have the uniform with him." Joy glances again at Tim, "I had to ask for a new uniform for Rick, as he never returned that one to me."

"Did he ever tell you why or where he took the uniform?"

"No," she says, "when I asked, he told me that it wasn't my business and then," she shrugs, "he was dead three days later."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Jake leaves Rick killing a twelve foot dragon, and goes to the bathroom on the end of the corridor. While he's taking a leak, someone knocks on the door.

"Wait a second," he shouts. He finishes, washes his hand, and opens the door and has the biggest shock of his entire life.

There is a God, He exists, and His masterpiece is right before him.

Soft skin pale skin, doe like eyes, long curly brown hair framing an oval face, a small perky nose, all crowned with a small pink mouth made for kissing, which right now was stretching into a smile.

"Hi, you must be Jake," the Angel before him spoke.

"Ahhhh…"

_SLAP._

"Ouch," Jake rubs his head, and looks at his uncle Matt, who is standing behind the Angel and looking down at him, almost growling.

"Stop gawking at my girlfriend, carrot head," growls Matt.

"Your girlfriend?" Jake looks again at Sarah, who now can't hide her mirth over his reaction, "This hot girl is your girlfriend? Do you even know what to do with such perfection?" Jake blushes as soon as he realizes what he has said, and Sarah starts laughing wholeheartedly.

_SLAP._

"Ouch," says Jake.

"Shut up, carrot head."


	34. Tramontana

**Tramontana**

_Is it broken?  
Can we work it out?  
Let's light up the town, scream out loud!  
Is it broken?  
Can we work it out?  
I can see in your eyes  
You're ready to break  
Don't look away.__Secondhand Serenade - Broken_

_So here we are now_  
_In a place where_  
_The sun blended_  
_With the ocean thin._  
_So thin, we stand_  
_Across from each other_  
_Together we'll wonder_  
_If we will last these days_  
_If I asked you to stay_  
_Would you tell me_  
_You would be mine?_

_**Secondhand Serenade - Broken**_

After promising to keep in touch with Lisa, even after the agents were gone, the Veseleys left the Buchanan home.

The Buchanans and the McGees sat down for dinner, and Sarah, Lisa and Joy helped in the kitchen with a lot of laughter, while Timothy sat down with Jake and they compared their programming knowledge. Matt simply stayed with Priscilla and Jethro in the living room. It was a happy affair, with Sarah teasing Jake, who blushed brightly every time the youngest McGee spoke to him, incessantly. Matt would smirk, as he had been the first to fall under Sarah's spell, and he understood her allure to a healthy fourteen year old boy on the brink of adulthood.

Priscilla insisted that Jethro should sit beside her, and she would feed him small pieces of meat, to the despair of her mother.

Joy simply smiled at the antics of her family, and when she looked at Tim, she was happy to see that the tenseness in his shoulders had slowly ebbed way as he was integrated into her family routine.

After dinner, Tim insisted on helping with the dishes. Joy decided to help him out, and kicked out everyone else so they could watch the latest Pixar movie, to the shouts of joy from Priscilla and the moaning from Matt and Jake, who had seen it already, probably fifteen times.

Tim and Joy work side by side in the kitchen in a comfortable camaraderie, he washed the dishes, she would dry and put them in their respective places. In no time at all, all the dishes, cutlery and pans used for dinner were washed, dried and put away. They look around the kitchen and there's nothing else to do.

Joy supports her six on the kitchen sink, and studies his face, as he seems to be very far away in his thoughts, staring out to the backyard through the kitchen window without really seeing the trees outside.

"What are you thinking?"

"Maybe we're looking at this case from the wrong perspective."

"What do you mean?"

"There's something missing," says Tim, staring at the backyard by the kitchen window, "there's something going on that we're not aware of."

He turns to Joy, and continues, "And until we find this missing piece, we can't solve the case."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After some moaning from the kids, everyone settled down for sleep. Priscilla complained, but had not been able to convince her mother to let Jethro the dog, who was relegated to sleep on his own dog bed in the kitchen, sleep in her bedroom, and Matt and Jake went to their own beds. Sarah said goodnight to her brother and to the Buchanans, and also went to her own guest room.

Meanwhile, Joy and Tim went to the grandparents' room, and silently started their ritual for going to bed.

Tim uses the bathroom first, puts a pair of comfortable pyjamas on and laid down on the fluffy pillows, just hearing Joy brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed.

Joy comes out of the bathroom, also in comfy PJs, and kills the light, and hops onto the bed. She grabs a pillow, hugs it tight against her chest and turns her back to him, getting ready to sleep. She stays on her side though.

McGee stares at her back for a full minute, wondering what exactly happened here.

"I thought we'd agreed we weren't fighting anymore," He says softly.

She sighs loudly and turns, so she may lie on her back to look at his face. She sees him studying her with a frown. "We aren't, but I'm tired, and all things considered, I thought you preferred to sleep early tonight."

"I'm also tired, and I want to sleep but… I sleep better when I have you in my arms." His confession was heartfelt, but almost difficult to hear, as he said it very softly.

Joy studies his face for a full minute, seeing the sincerity in it. She scoots over, and after some manoeuvres she is laying glued to his side, her head resting on his shoulder, one of her legs over his legs, her arm resting on his chest and her fingers doing slow circles over his left nipple over the cloth of the PJs.

She feels him physically responding to her closeness.

"I thought you said you were tired," she murmurs against his chest. He chuckles.

"I am tired, the spirit is willing but the flesh is not bright enough to understand that I won't be able to stay awake long enough to finish anything that I might start right now."

They both laugh, and silently slide into Morpheus's arms.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

_And time  
Is all I ask for  
Time  
I just need one more day  
And time  
You've been crying too long  
Time  
And your tears wrote this song  
Stay_

_In the moonlight_  
_Your face it glows_

_Is it broken?  
Can we work it out?  
_

That night, in the other guest room, Sarah lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The night noises in Norfolk are different from what she's used to in her dorm at Waverly. She was used to the sound of laughter and sometimes loud partying of her dorm mates, and her roommate sometimes arriving late in the night after a crazy party.

Here, she could hear only the night animals, and the whisper of the wind in the trees. A door opens on the corridor, and she looks towards the closed door as she hears muffed footsteps going down the corridor, until the bathroom door closes.

She leans back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and wonders who might still be awake at that time of the night. As her body, despite her tiredness, refuses to fall asleep, she decides to get up and investigate.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After some restless sleep, where images and flashes of what happened at Waverly shone before his mind's eye, Matt woke up sweating, hard and aching. He cursed mentally, as he looks at the sleeping teenager on the other twin bed, and bites his hand, trying to stop the moan of pain from escaping.

He spent several minutes, trying to think about the most disgusting things his mind could come up with, but after a while, his despair reached unacceptable levels.

His erection refused to go, and Matt absolutely refused to completely humiliate himself jerking off only six feet away from his nephew. It would be too embarrassing explaining the wet spots to Lisa, or Joy, and his nephew would certainly recognize the smell as soon as he woke up.

So, moving like an arthritic man, very slowly, he left the bed as silently as he could, opened the door and walked barefoot to the bathroom further down the corridor. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and he knew he had to literally take the matter in his own hands.

As soon as he gets to the bathroom, he closes the door, and runs to the toilet, drops his pants, and starts to roughly manhandle himself, trying to take the edge away, just to deflate himself enough so he may sleep.

He closes his eyes, and starts to breathe faster, as the excitement builds up, and the burning fever starts, but his climax refuses to happen and he starts to rub himself harder, desperate for release.

"Matt?" he jumps, and he almost stumbles on his lowered pants and breaks his head on the sink as he turns around and sees Sarah, who is staring at him from the gap in the door.

Damn, he had forgotten to lock the door.

"SARAH," he squeals, and sits down on the toilet and stretches out his hand and catches a towel to cover himself, and he can feel himself blushing brightly, all over, as he was literally caught with the pants down and red handed.

"What are you doing?" She frowns at him, as she enters the bathroom and closes the door behind her.

"Sarah, I think it is pretty obvious", he feels the blush burning, but he refuses to look at her, and carefully rearranges the towel over himself, but the white towel does little to hide his state from her eyes.

"Why are you doing that?" She is staring at him, and he starts getting annoyed.

"Ah, I…" he blushes deep, "I couldn't sleep."

"So you were trying to squeeze it away?"

"It hurts Sarah, just go, please go!" He closes his eyes, completely mortified, "just go to sleep and leave me alone," he says, and lowers his head to his chest.

"No," she goes to the door, and locks it.

"Sarah, please," Matt hisses, desperately trying to convince her to go, "your brother is down the hall, and he's armed, I don't want to piss him off more than I already did."

"This is not about my brother, I won't let you hurt yourself this way when we together can find more," she takes her shirt off, "agreeable ways." Matt's big head is being totally overruled by his little head, and he opens his eyes and looks at her, in pain.

"Saraaaaaah," Matt hisses, and feels himself responding to her presence, twitching in anticipation.

"You said," she takes off her pyjama bottoms, "that day in Waverly, that you loved me." She approaches him, and slowly takes away the towel he was using to hide himself from her view, and straddles his muscular legs, and slowly brings his trembling hands to her hips, and he's already panting as if he had run a marathon, as he looks at her adoringly "I believe you have yet to show me."

"Sarahhhh" he groans, shaking and trying to control himself.

She leans down, and molds his face with her small hands, "Show me, Matthew."

He closed his eyes, and when he opened his eyes his siren was still there, enticing him to douse the flames he was burning in with her free willing offer. After a moment of hesitation, milliseconds really, his instinct took over self preservation, and he took what was offered.

Both overslept the next morning.


	35. Kamseen

**Kamseen**

"Come on, sweetie, time to wake up to go to school," said Lisa, kissing Priscilla's soft hair.

"Don't wanna."

"Not negotiable, young lady."

"But I wanna stay with Jetooo," she pouts.

"Morning," says Sarah from the doorway, and she smiles at Lisa arguing with Priscilla, as it reminds her of her mom having the same problem with her.

"Morning, Sarah," she turns to Pri, who has her arms folded and is pouting, looking at her mother with a frown, "come on, young lady."

"No, wanna stay with Jetoo."

"Pri," sighs Lisa.

"We could watch her," says Sarah, "me and Matt, we're not going anywhere, we're staying inside, so if she wants to stay..." She leaves the offer hanging in the air, and as she looks at the little girl, and sees a huge grin appearing on her face.

"MOMMY, YES YES," she stands up on her bed, and starts to jump, "I can stay with aunt Sarah and uncle Matt, then uncle Matt can play with me with Legos and Sarah with my dollies!"

Lisa smiles, and looks at Sarah, "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

At the breakfast table, Jake and Matt eat the like there's no tomorrow, and Lisa slaps their heads**,** ordering them to slow down.

"Manners, we have visitors in the house." Both blush, and start eating at a slower pace.

Joy, on the other hand, is studying Sarah and Matt. He seems to be much more relaxed that morning, and the dark circles on Sarah's face, caused by sleepless nights and endless hours of crying, were starting to fade, and there was a healthy glow on her skin that hadn't been there the night before.

"May I have the salt, please?" says Sarah.

Joy's mind watches the scene like a slow motion movie, as Matt takes the salt from Jake and moves it to give it to Sarah. There's a slight caress of his fingers when he deposits the salt shaker in her open palm, and her hand takes its sweet time to close over it.

The scene lasted mere seconds, but when she looks at her brother's face, he's blushing and he's breathing deeply. He feels her burning gaze, and he turns to her, and he blushes even deeper under her scrutiny.

She smiles thinly, and looks at Timothy, who is talking with Jake about his time in MIT.

_Thank God for Mr. Oblivious._

She looks again at Matt, who is studying his bacon and eggs very carefully. He looks up, and his eyes cross with his sister's.

_If he finds out, you're so dead_, she thinks.

Lisa stands up from the table, and Jake finishes his juice and stands up as well.

"Jake, I need to talk to you." The teenager fidgets a little, but agrees.

Joy stands up, and asks him to follow her to the living room. Tim looks at her back as she leaves, then at Matt and Sarah, who are not done yet. Priscilla is happily feeding toast to Jethro, who is lapping the little girl's fingers.

"Go," says Sarah, and he glances at Matt, back to Sarah, and follows Joy to the living room.

Underneath the table, Sarah takes Matt's hand, and he squeezes it.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Take a seat, Jake," says Joy, and the gangly teenager sits down on the sofa, and starts moving his legs nervously.

"I'm not going to lecture you, just relax."

"What's this about, aunt Joy?"

"Do you know what I do at NCIS?" She asks, and the young man shrugs, uninterested.

"You solve cases, I think." He mutters.

"I solve murders, Jake," she corrects him, and he runs his hand over his curly reddish brown hair, moving it away from his eyes, "a murder happens, we investigate, and we bring this person to justice."

"Ok," he shrugs.

"Sometimes, besides that, we also have to protect witnesses," she says, "people who were in the wrong time at the wrong place, and they've seen something that they shouldn't have, and that makes them targets," she leans towards her nephew, "then we," she points to Tim, who had sat down beside her in the sofa, "have to protect them."

The teenager look from his aunt to her partner, and shrugs, "And?"

"Remember the little boy from yesterday, the one that played video games with you?"

"Rick," Jake says, "he's ok, for a kid."

"His father was just murdered. He's hurting. And he needs help." Jake just looks at his aunt, trying to figure out what her point was with this talk.

"School is sometimes like a forest, filled with dangers. Children in there are not so innocent, they move and act like a pack of wolves, and there are two basic behaviors in the pack. You either are a predator or prey."

"Rick is hurt, and in pack language, it means that he's weak. The pack doesn't accept weak members, so its instinct is to destroy the weak members in it, to turn the pack stronger," her gaze burns Jake, and Jake frowns at what his aunt is saying to him, "do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I think I do," says Jake, after a pause.

"Weak members in a pack will only survive if another pack member protects them; if they are not protected, they are doomed," says Joy, and she sees her nephew thinking, "Rick lost his father, now he's vulnerable: people will attack him, just because they feel that he will be an easy target, " Jake lifts his head and looks Joy in the eyes, "as a special agent, both for the FBI and NCIS, we are honor bound to defend the weak, and to protect the innocent, and serve justice for those who can't fight."

"So, I'm asking you to be my very special agent today: I want you to protect someone weaker than you, who without your help, stands no chance against the trials he must face in the next few days," she studies Jake, who is staring at her, silently, "do you think you can do it?"

"We're not even in the same school block, I'm in high school, we might meet during lunch break, but that's all."

"But you can make sure that the others in the pack find out that he's not alone," says Joy.

Tim studies the teenager, who is struggling with his aunt's request, "Do you think you can do it? Do you think you can act like a special agent?"

After thinking, Jake shrugs, "Ok, let's do it."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Lisa drives Jake to school, while Joy and Tim go to the office in Norfolk. Matt and Sarah stay with Priscilla, who is enjoying Jethro's company immensely. They interview the co-workers of Veseley, again, and go through his desk again. They find the records of the incoming delivery that Lannie had mentioned the night before, and talk with the commanding officer of the base. He informs them that they checked and rechecked the documents, there's nothing wrong to be found in it.

They visit the widow, again, and find Tara Beckinsale visiting her. She insists on staying to offer support to the widow during the interview, but Joy basically has to order her to leave.

"She's a friend, I trust her," says Lannie, after Joy guides Mrs. Beckinsale out.

"Well, she's not my friend, so I don't trust her. Your husband has been killed, for no apparent reason, and until we find out why someone would want him dead, I would have to suggest you not trust anyone either."

They leave the house, and Joy and Tim imitate the same position Gibbs and Joy had the last time they were in Norfolk.

"Tim, what do you see when you look at this street?"

"What do I see?" He looks down the road, and sees the movement of the people and the houses and cars, "I see houses, lamp posts, people. Two teenagers, probably brother and sister, fixing their bike, a woman watering her plants, the gardener cutting the grass, a father kissing his wife goodbye, who is holding their baby on her arms," he look down at her, and she has a frown at her forehead.

"Why, what do you see?" He supports his six on the hood of the car, and folds his arms, waiting for an answer, which takes some minutes to come.

Joy looks at the street, at the people in their everyday life: loving, working, living. She sighs, and says softly:

"Gideon, many, many years ago," she glances at Tim briefly, then looks down the street, "told me that I have a gift, that he merely fine tuned it. That I did naturally what took people years to learn, and all he had to do was to teach me how to interpret the signs correctly and transform it into useful information."

She points down the street with her chin, and continues talking:

"The third house over there is not empty, even though there is a foreclosure sign on the lawn. The gardener working on the fifth house slept or is sleeping with the teenager across the street _and_ the foxy lady watering her roses in her front yard two blocks down."

Tim's face becomes a comic mask, as she keeps up her analysis of the people on that street.

"The father who's saying goodbye to his family is having an affair with the lady who is peeking from the window in the third houseon the block, and the baby his wife is holding, well, it's not his."

McGee looks from Joy to the street, and looks at the people on it with different eyes. He frowns as he starts to see the glances, the touches and the veiled meaning behind their actions, things that he had not seen but Joy, as a profiler, had seen them after just seconds of analysis.

"How?" he is flabbergasted, as she is good, but he never imagined that she was that good.

"Gideon called it a gift, Dad called it a curse, as, in order to interact in society, you have to at least pretend that you believe in the lies it presents to you, and I was never good at acting."

He looks down at her, and she continues, "Was it just me or you also noticed the unhealthy interest Mrs. Beckinsale had in our investigation?"

"She was very eager to sit in on our questioning of the widow."

"Too eager," Joy frowns at the thought.

"Do you think that she might be somehow involved with Veseley's death?" McGee studies Joy's face, and he's sees the same focused air on it as so many other times before when they profiled together.

"I don't know yet, but her concern towards Mrs. Veseley didn't seem genuine. And that worries me."

He stands up, "It seems reason enough to visit the Beckingsales."

Joy smiles, and both go into the car, and drive away.


	36. Ethesian Wind

**Ethesian Wind**

"Hey, little girl, did you lose your dollies?" the question was followed by howling laughter, but Rick did not stop walking on the corridor towards his English class.

His tormentor, one of the older students in his class, who got held back due to his bad grades, keeps harassing him, just to cause more laughter from his goons.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" He pushes Rick, causing him to trip. Rick looks at him with hatred, from his position on the floor, and starts collecting his books.

The bully steps on his hand as he tries to get one of his notebooks from the floor, but he refuses to moan in pain.

"What is going on here?" someone shouts, and the weight is suddenly gone. Rick looks up, and it's Jake, along with two other friends of his, and they are intimidating the bullies.

"We were just talking with him," says the bully.

"Yeah, sure," Jake helps Rick up, and the two other boys collect his books from the floor, "just stay away from him, or you will have to deal with me, ok, asshole?"

The bully, along with his two other goons, gets scared at the tall teenager defending the little loser, and ran away.

Jake uses his hand to get his reddish hair out of his eyes, and looks down to Rick, "are you ok?"

Rick nods, and silently accepts his books from Jake's friend.

"We'll escort you to your class," offers Marty, a gangly teenager with eyeglasses, who plays drums in Jake's garage band.

Rick looks at the three older boys, and sees no hostility, and walks to his class flanked by the older boys.

Before they separate, Jake calls out to him, "hey Rick, during lunch, stop by our table, me and my friends, we will be talking about our projects for the summer, I'm sure you would like it."

Rick murmurs something that Jake cannot hear, and he urges Rick to repeat himself.

"I don't want to be a burden," Rick says, almost a whisper.

"Ah, no burden at all, Tom and Marty won't mind," he points to his friends, "and we can tell you all about our projects for our band during summer."

"You guys have a band?" asks Rick, excited.

"Yeah, I play bass, Tom is a wicked guitar and Marty can blow up your ears with his drums."

"Cool, I'll be there."

During lunch break, Rick listened to the three boys, as they spoke about their plans and dreams for their band, attentively. Tom suggested that they might need a mascot, and Rick was officially adopted by the group.

For the first time since his father died, Rick smiles a sincere smile.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joy and Tim arrive at the door of a nice suburban house, and knock on the door. They hear footsteps, and some barking in the background.

Finally, Tara Beckinsale opens her door, and looks at the two agents with a frown on her face, "hi, how may I help you, agents?"

"We would appreciate if you answered some questions, Mrs. Beckinsale," says Tim, politely.

She looks at the two agents for some seconds, still mad at them for kicking her out of the Veseleys' home.

"Is this about Lawrence?" she finally asks.

"Yes, ma'am, we're still investigating his life and acquaintances, and we would appreciate if you cooperate," says Joy, in a monotone voice.

Tara sighs, makes a face and opens the door, "just for Lannie, I'll do it, come on in."

The two agents enter the house, Tara takes their jackets and takes them to a small closet, by the door, where she hangs them alongside the coats of her family. She comes out of the closet, and looks at the agents, "so, coffee anyone?"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After a frustrating interview with Mrs. Beckinsale, which revealed that her only interaction with Lawrence and Lannie had been during parent meetings on the school and game watching their respective kids, Tim and Joy excused themselves and got ready to leave.

Mrs. Beckinsale entered the closet, got two jackets from it and waved at them, as they drove away. However, Mrs. Beckinsale took the wrong jacket, not Joy's, and gave it to the agent, who did not notice the mistake, as the cloth and color were the same as her own.

Instead of stopping somewhere for lunch, they drive home to Johnny's and Lisa's home, just to check on Matt and Sarah, and for a light lunch.

Once they arrive, they find Sarah throwing a ball for Jethro to catch in the backyard, and they can hear Priscilla's delighted laughter, as she runs on chubby legs after the dog.

McGee smiles at the scene, as his sister seems genuinely happy, and at the innocent picture of the little girl with the dog at her feet. He's assaulted with longing to have the same thing, his own home, a family, and glances briefly at Joy, who is helping Matt to set the table for lunch, talking softly with her brother.

This chance had been stolen from them, even before they met. In those rare times they had sat down and really talked about their relationship, Joy's inability to have children had only been mentioned twice in their conversations. On their first night together, when they decided to forego protection, for their weekend filled with wall shattering sex, and later on when they had to sit down to decide what to do with their attraction, right in the first week they were partnered at NCIS.

He looks outside again, and watches his sister playing with the little girl, and feels his heart constrict, as he always imagined that, despite his long line of misadventures with the fairer sex, he would get it right some time in the future, and he would be given the chance of starting a family of his own.

However, fate had been kind, and at the same time cruel. It put in his path someone who was beyond all he had ever dreamed or imagined, someone who loved him fiercely in a way that sometimes surprised him, but unfortunately she would never be able to give him a child on her own.

However, she grew up in a family who taught her that, regardless of blood, love was much more important than anything else, and as he sees her teasing her brother, he could clearly imagine a family formed by adopted children, like Joy herself, and still happy.

"TIM," shouts Sarah, "come here!"

He smiles, opens the sliding glass door, and goes to the backyard to play with his sister, leaving the door open after himself. Sarah throws him the ball, and he starts teasing Jethro with it. The dog charges against him, trying to catch it from his hand, and he throws it, and Jethro runs to catch it. Mission accomplished, the dog comes back wiggling its tail happily, proud of his accomplishment. McGee leans down and rubs his head, congratulating him.

Suddenly the wind changes, and Jethro freezes. The door is still open, and Joy is standing by the door speaking with Matt. He turns his head to the kitchen and McGee can literally feel his hackles rising.

"Jethro?"

Jethro starts running towards the kitchen, towards Joy, barking and baring his teeth. Joy gets scared, and freezes where she is, but Matthew acts faster and rushes to close the glass door, effectively trapping the attacking dog in the backyard.

Tim shouts at Jethro, who is scaring Sarah and Priscilla, who is crying in Sarah's arms.

McGee finally catches Jethro's collar, and drags him away from the glass door, which now is all scratched and slobbered over, and orders him to lay down. He still growls furiously, but obeys.

"What the hell happened here?" says Matthew, looking at the furious dog outside being barely restrained by McGee.

"I don't know, he's never reacted to me like that before."

"You've never told me he was a guard dog, Lisa will get mad at us for letting Priscilla play with him."

"But he's not a guard dog, he's…" she freezes, suddenly having an insight. She turns to McGee, and stares at the dog, who is still snarling at her through the glass.

"He's what?" Matt is not following her yet.

"Oh, my God," she mutters, and knocks on the glass door. Jethro is still barking, and McGee is having difficulty to hold 90 pounds of angry dog back.

"What?" Tim holds Jethro by his collar, but the dog is still snarling angrily.

"Hold him down, I'm coming out."

"What? Are you crazy?"

"I have a theory."


	37. Airstream

**Airstream**

After several tries and pieces of clothes discarded, which Joy would pass to Tim through a gap in the glass door, they figured out that Jethro was reacting to Joy's jacket.

Joy examines it, and frowns at it as she notices something curious, "this is not my jacket."

"What do you mean, this is not your jacket? I saw you put it on this morning," says Matthew, looking at McGee who is restraining Jethro in the backyard. He's calmer now, but he definitely reacted in a weird way when he sniffed the jacket.

Joy shakes her head, as her brother's fashion sense was restricted to jeans, or marine uniforms.

"This is not my jacket. It is exactly the same color, the same buttons, different cut, same cloth, but mine is not this brand. I don't buy things of this brand." She points the slip on the back of the neck of the jacket.

McGee enters the house, after putting a leash on Jethro and tying him to a tree in the backyard. Sarah and Priscilla are sitting in the kitchen chairs, waiting for Jethro to calm down.

"So, what's the verdict?" Tim looks at Joy, and sees she's examining her jacket.

"This is not my jacket?"

"But…" he frowns, "where did you get this one, and where is your jacket?"

Both agents look at each other, and both remember the closet where Mrs. Beckinsale put their jackets, and the number of jackets and coats hanging from it. "Beckinsales."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After a change of clothes for Joy, Tim and Joy left for the local NCIS office, and requested the use of their office. They packed the jacket as evidence and requested it to be sent to Abby. Meanwhile, they explained what happened to Abby through a video call.

Abby then informed them that Temperance had returned to NCIS, and was currently helping Jimmy with the gathering of evidence in Autopsy, so they might continue the analysis of the shooting victims.

"Temp and Jimmy, alone in autopsy, not good," says Joy with a smile, "not good at all."

"They said that they just had coffee together," says Abby.

"Sure, and I had just a drink with McGee when I met him," says Joy, her voice full of irony.

"Really, one day you guys have to tell me the whole story," says Abby, grinning.

McGee blushes, and changes the subject, "Hey Abby, where is that guy, the other agent who was supposed to help you out?"

"Agent Sleazy?"

"Slate, Abby, Special Agent Slate," says Joy smiling at the goth.

"Well, he took one look at my pigtails, tattoos and fishnets and said that we were all crazy in this agency, and left. He didn't stay with us in the lab for more than one hour. But your sister is cool, she likes my music."

Joy rolls her eyes, "thank God for small mercies."

Abby smile fades, and she becomes very serious and changes subject.

"Ah, about the other thing, you know, the thing, it is coming down tonight," says Abby, and Joy immediately tenses up.

"Other thing, what other thing?" Tim frowns at Abby's serious face, and he notices how Joy avoids his eyes. Both women ignore him, and are staring at each other seriously.

"Tonight already? Is everything and everyone already set?"

"Yes, a good defense is a smart offense," says Abby with a small grin.

"Ok, keep me posted."

"Wait a second, what's going on tonight?" Tim doesn't get an answer from Abby, who disconnects without explaining their mysterious conversation.

"What's going on, Joy?"

She ignores him and starts gathering the papers from the table, and putting them inside her folder, so they may leave.

"Joy," he stops her, with his hands on her shoulders, "What's happening tonight?"

"Here is not the time, nor the place, let's go home first, then we talk." Joy looks him in the eye, and he sees how serious she is. Whatever it is happening, it's not good, and he fears it somehow might involve his father.

He studies her face, "Ok, but we go home now and you will tell me what's going on. Everything."

"Everything." She concedes, and they pack their things, and leave.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After school, Jake invites Rick to stay for his band practice. Rick says he would have to ask his mom's permission. Jake immediately gets his mobile phone and offers it to Rick.

Rick talks with his mom, and gives the phone to Jake, who promises to walk Rick home after practice.

Rick stays.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Back in DC, despite the dark cloud that seemed to be hovering over NCIS, their investigation must go on. As soon as Abby receives the jacket by a NCIS courier, she starts working on it, and after the report from Tim and Joy from Norfolk, Tony and Ziva are investigating the Beckinsales.

They find out that the family had moved into the neighborhood three years ago. Dad was a commercial representative for drill machines, and travelled a lot, not only in the US but also abroad.

Mom was a handcraft artist, who sold her pieces through her website, and the couple lived in Norfolk with their son, one little boy one year older than Rick, who played in the same team.

After some digging, they were able to receive information from the local police that, for some reason, there had been an increase in the availability of drugs in and around Norfolk. This increase matched the arrival of the Beckinsales in the neighborhood.

It was an interesting coincidence, if you were the type of person to believe in coincidences. However, Gibbs has never believed in them, and orders his team to check the background of the family, and the co-workers and the previous city where they had moved from.

"DIG DEEPER," barks Gibbs, and Tony and Ziva keep on investigating.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Meanwhile, since hearing the name of Kieran McGee for the first time, Hope and her army of snoops were carefully cataloguing all steps and contacts made from and to his mobile and land lines.

She ordered her team to create a complete dossier, and had shared only the basics with Faith, when she had to drop the bomb of his possible connection with the Mafia to Joy and the rest of NCIS.

She contacted past co-workers, subalterns, anyone who had ever contacted or worked with him. She found several people who, as soon as she informed that she was investigating one Kieran McGee, clammed up and refused to say a word. Apparently, the commander had truly terrified those he had contact with, leaving a path of destroyed lives and shortened careers in his wake.

But she had a breakthrough that afternoon, as she received the last known address of a young sergeant who had been dishonorably discharged a couple of months ago. Apparently, the young man had been caught with drugs during a routine inspection, and, even though he adamantly refused to admit those drugs were his, he had been dismissed.

Hope, alongside with another agent from her snoop team, went all the way to Delaware, and knocked on the door of a small house in a small rural city.

A very old lady opened the door, and studied the two FBI agents with rheumy eyes.

"What do you want?" she asks, in a voice that shows that she had smoked too many cigarettes back in the day.

"Ma'am, we're here to talk with Sergeant Thomas Delaney, is he in?"

She studies them for a moment, and frowns, "Why would you want to speak with my Tommy?"

Hope glances at the other agent, who shrugs, as if to say, why not?

"We would like to question him about Commander Kieran McGee," says Hope, finally deciding to speak the truth.

The old lady smiles, showing teeth yellowed by nicotine, "are you guys finally going to send that bastard to jail?"

Hope smiles, as apparently they found an ally, "yes ma'am, we're doing our best to achieve that goal."

She opens the door, and waves with her hand, indicating that the agents should come in, "finally, someone to hear our story," she says.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After some cups of disgustingly sweet coffee, and a long conversation about the past, Hope and the other agent left with several boxes, all containing evidence gathered by Sergeant Delaney, before his mysterious death three weeks previously. After he was kicked out of the Navy, he started to investigate Kieran McGee, and compiled the testimony of several other people who crossed his path and, if they were useful to him, were blackmailed to work to him, if they weren't, he would simply remove them from his way, no matter the cost.

"Tell me how," says Hope to her colleague, "every single person who crosses the Commander's path, if they clash with him, end dead?" She looks at him, and he shakes his head, as he starts the car.

"I think that's what we have to find out, before your sister and the commander's son are added to that list."

They drive off.


	38. Strong

**Strong**

It was a tense drive back to Lisa's place, as Joy refused to give any hint of what was happening and every time Tim would glance at her, she had a frown on her face, as if whatever she was thinking was giving her a very bad headache.

They enter the house and are greeted by the enthusiastic barks of Jethro and the happy squeals of Priscilla, and they have to laugh at the completely exhausted looks both Matt and Sarah had on their faces.

"Enjoyed your day, uhm?" says Joy with a smirk, as she sees her brother sitting heavily on the love seat and melting down on it, completely exhausted.

"Babysitting is a great contraceptive method, because if every man, or woman, had ever to deal with a child twenty-four seven BEFORE conceiving, they would think twice about it. Or thrice, I don't know." He says, exhausted.

"What?" Tim smirks down at Matt, "have you just decided you're not having any kids? Just because they might be too much trouble?"

Matt looks at Tim, cross, and feels Sarah's gaze on him, so he shrugs, "I don't know, but I would definitely be very careful before deciding to have any. It's a lot of responsibility."

Sarah just smiles, and hugs Priscilla, who climbed in her lap to show her one of her dolls. She lifts her eyes, and her eyes cross with Matt's which were studying her with the little girl in her lap.

"Of course," he adds, softly, "I would have to discuss it with the prospective mother, as well."

Matt and Sarah just look at each other, and Timothy opens his mouth, ready to say something, but Joy grabs his arm, and drags him down the corridor towards the stairs, "we'll be back later," she shouts to them, and rushes to their guest bedroom.

"What exactly has just happened down there?" Tim finally finds his ability to speak again, and Joy just smiles and closes the guest bedroom door after herself, and locks it.

"I don't know, and I don't wanna know, It's not my business," she looks at him, leaning against the locked door, "neither yours."

He folds his arms, deep in thought, studying her face, trying to find in it something, anything to help him figure out what is happening behind those brown eyes.

She sighs deeply, and walks around the bed, and sits on his side, and pats the mattress, "sit down, and I will explain everything."

Timothy still takes a minute, deep in thought, before he sits on the bed, "this is about my father, isn't it?"

Joy is staring ahead, breathing very slowly, and she refuses to meet his eyes, "yes," she says softly.

Tim closes his eyes, and sighs deeply, his mind working thousands of different scenarios of what might be possibly have happened and what possibly might still happen, and everything that pops before his eyes was bad, "please tell me everything," he opens his eyes, "don't hide anything."

Joy turns to look at him, and in her eyes she sees only concern, and determination to finish whatever they had started, "I won't."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Since the night before, the NY underground scene had been in uproar. There were rumors that some criminal hackers had been hunted down and executed. All of them were on Mike's regular crew. Besides that, there had been several anonymous tips to the NYPD of secret hideouts, as well as drug labs, and both the PD and the FBI was having one of the biggest bust operations of the year, arresting pimps, drug pushers, mules and chemists who were working in their labs.

They also received search warrants for the offices of lawyers and accountants who were under suspicion of having links with the Mob and, even though the FBI knew that they might not find anything incriminatory in the official books, at least they were giving the tree a good shake.

After all, the message they wanted to deliver was loud and clear: they were watching, and they would act to impose the fullest extent of the law.

For those living in the underground, however, the message had been very specific: Mike Murdoch had messed with the wrong people, and now he was paying the price by a direct attack on his operations. In blood.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"We have verified several attempts to read our confidential personal files, both in the NCIS servers or, in my case, DoD," she starts, studying his face for any reaction.

"What were they looking for?"

"Everything. Anything. The attacks were insistent, but were caught early on, so they weren't able to access much. But still, it was a very uncomfortable wake up call."

"Were you able to find out who was behind those attacks?"

Joy looks down to her hands, which were resting on her own thighs, and relaxes her fingers, "they originated from New York, and we have reason to believe that it was a coordinated attack ordered by a mob don."

"What does it have to do with my father?" says Tim softly, still not wanting to believe the ramifications of what she is saying.

Joy looks at him in the eye, and says, "the attacks started after your father placed a phone call to a person of interest in NY, and later on he received a phone call back. This one we had the opportunity of listening in on, as he was already under surveillance by Hope's team," Joy bites her lower lip, then says, "Tim, your father ordered the attacks, and he gave all our names to the mobster to look up."

Joy's heart constricts as she sees Tim's face crunch up in pain, as the scope of his father's evilness is revealed to him. He closes his eyes, and breathes deeply several times, trying to ease the pain.

"Why? Why would he do that? Why would he put us in jeopardy like that?"

"I … We don't know yet, but whatever he's done, he put all of us at risk." Joy shakes her head, trying to dispel the dark thoughts from her head, as several outcomes for the situation appeared before her eyes, and they were all bad. "From Palmer to the Director, every one of us had our files scrutinized, poked and if my mom hadn't ordered our family files sealed, and yours flagged," she sees the pain he is in, but the must continue, "it could have been much worse."

"Your mom flagged my file? Why?"

"Mom flagged all your files, Gibbs, Tony's Ziva's, even the Director's as soon as I started to work in NCIS."

Tim is confused, "Why?"

Joy smiles between her tears, and wipes her eyes, where tears are ready to fall, "please, mom is a control freak," she smiles at Tim, "from the moment I was assigned to Gibbs's team, she had background checks done on all of you." Tim opens his mouth, but no words come out, and Joy continues, "of course, she also had a veiled interest in knowing more about you, since you were…" she smiles saucily at him, and he blushes, "she didn't want to see me hurt again. She just did what she did to protect me."

"So she had me checked out."

"Yep"

"What if I was a rotten egg? A bad person, what would she have done?"

"She would have shown me the file, and let me take my own decisions. She had done that before." She sighs, "As there was nothing in the file that she considered worth of mentioning to me, she buried it, and then ordered all the files of those involved in my work in NCIS flagged, just in case someone ever tried to use me or NCIS as leverage against her."

Tim thinks a little about she had just revealed, "so she has been watching us all along."

"No, she has been watching over us all along, Tim."

"I don't see much difference," he adds, bitterly, as he stands up and goes to the window, "she was just trying to cover for herself."

"No, Tim," Joy stands up, "she has the responsibility of protecting us, that's what she has always done," he turns to her, staring down at her with hurt eyes, "yes, her work is very important, and yes, she was trying to cover all the bases, but her biggest concern has always been our protection: if she hadn't taken such steps, we wouldn't be aware of the threat, we wouldn't be ready to fight back when the time comes."

He's still smarting with hurt, and she continues, "you have to understand that all she has ever done was to protect the family."

"We're not her family, she shouldn't …"

"You really don't get it, do you?" Joy says irritated, "for her, you are family. Regardless of your status as my boyfriend, or significant other, as you work with me, and if my connections to mom are exposed, you become a target." He freezes, and she continues, "There are too many players in the power game she plays, and you have to be very careful with the pieces you have, as it is usually by those people who are not aware of what it is at stake that the game might be lost."

"Tim," she is really hoping that he is able to see things as she sees them, "we had secrets for breakfast while we were growing up, and it was ingrained in our behavior to be cautious in our dealing with others, never revealing too much, or anything that might expose what mom does, because there were too many people who could use us, any of us, to force mom to a make a deal."

"It has happened before." She adds softly.

"Who?" he asks.

"They tried to use Temp." she says softly.

McGee goes to the window, and stares through the window pane without really seeing the trees from the garden.

"Do you really think he would do that? Attack everyone I know, turn all of them into targets, just to… hit me?"

"I'm sorry, Tim," she says, fully aware of the betrayal and pain he must be feeling.

"Why does he hate me so much? I know I wasn't the son he wanted me to be, but…"

"Tim, it doesn't matter."

"No, it does matter. Why can't he love me?" his voice was quivering, the pain too much to bear.

"Because he doesn't know what love is. In order to love someone, you have to learn how. For him, love is synonymous with control, but control isn't love," she puts her arms around his back, her hands enfolding his waist and she leans her head against his back.

"Love is to give. Give yourself truly and completely, and be happy only when you see your beloved is happy, and complete only when you are with the one you love. It hurts, it heals, it completes you, it is something indescribable but as necessary as the air we breathe. That's love." He looks at their reflection on the window pane, he there, standing, and she, with her short arms trying to embrace him and take away the pain. Their eyes meet on the reflection.

"That was nice," he murmurs.

"Yes, it was," she smiles, and squeezes him on his waist.

"Did you read it somewhere? Were you quoting anyone?"

"No, it was totally spontaneous," she turns her head, so she can touch the side of her face on his back.

"Sometimes you are very eloquent," he says softly. Joy rubs her face against his back, and says softly as well.

"That's what you get when your father is known for long speeches."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Target is moving, alpha three," says a voice in the radio.

"Target is acknowledged, alpha six," says another.

"Is shark-bait here yet, alpha four?" says another voice.

"Believe me, when shark-bait bait arrives, you'll know, alpha three," says a female voice, with mirth.

DiNozzo stabbed the piece of broccoli on his plate, wishing it was Faith's head he was stabbing. Ziva looked at him, smirking, as she had heard the exchange by the radio.

"Don't laugh, it's not funny," he says in a low voice, and Ziva's grin becomes bigger.

"Oh, hairy butt is mad," she teases him, and he keeps on attacking his vegetables.

They were having dinner on a restaurant that the Buchanans handpicked as the stage for Commander Kieran McGee's downfall. It was an elegant, tiny Asian restaurant in the theater district, where Tony and Ziva were sitting in one of the private dining areas, separated by a tall hand carved wooden wall divider as backup just in case things went south.

Ziva picks her glass of white wine, and brings it to her mouth and hisses on her radio, "Visual with target, alpha six."

Commander Kieran McGee had just arrived, and was speaking with the petite Asian Maitre, asking for his reserved table.


	39. A mother's prayer

**A mother's prayer**

Commander Kieran McGee was a man whose sole purpose in life was to be in command. He thrived in his position, and in the power derived from it. Since he was a midshipman, he studied the people around him, and used and manipulated the people and the situations in order to ensure that he could have power, always more power.

As soon as he was in a comfortable position in the Navy, he noticed that it was necessary to present a more respectable image to his superiors: therefore, a wife was needed. A bachelor's life was frowned upon by those who wished to climb higher. A wife meant stability, and responsibility. So he started his search, and found the perfect little wife for himself.

Marianne had been a beautiful woman, a delight to the eyes and a good soul that shone like a star through her brilliant almond like green eyes. He had been introduced to her by a colleague, and after a short courtship, they had been married and were already expecting their first child within one year.

He was eager to start a family, and he covered her with compliments as the one who would bless him with a strong son, who would follow in his footsteps, someone he could teach to seek power as he did.

However, when the small pink bundle was put into his arms, he felt some insecurity for the first time in many years: how would such a tiny thing grow up to fulfill his dreams and plans? What if he failed?

Marianne loved unconditionally her little son, and was shocked and confused at the change of attitude of her husband, who, during the pregnancy had been very tender and caring, and as soon as he was presented with his son and heir, he took a step back and refused to participate, leaving her with all the dirty diapers and late night feedings.

When little Timothy had to be hospitalized for the first time, due to a respiratory infection, she was introduced for the very first time to the callousness of her husband, who until then had hidden it behind the mask of good husband.

He did not accept the possibility of any son of his being weak and frail, and insisted that she had been unfaithful to him. She cried and shouted at him, and stayed by her little boy's side until he was well enough to be sent home.

He reluctantly came to pick them up from the hospital, and asked for forgiveness and brought mother and child home with him. But after that, he'd never really warmed up to her sweet fragile green eyed boy, always treating him like just a child who happened to live in the same house he was, but never like a son.

Marianne's mother's heart bled for her son, as she saw how much it hurt him, but despite his failings, she still loved Kieran, and she had promised to give him another chance. She still hoped that, somehow, he would see how bright and intelligent their fragile child is, despite the hospital stays, between the bronchitis and the asthma attacks.

They tried again, and Kieran became an exemplary father when she announced she was pregnant again three years later. He showered attention on her and on her little Timmy, and walked proudly beside his family during the base dinners or outings.

But she miscarried, shortly before her seventh month, and with the unborn child a part of her husband, the essence that made him essentially human, died as well. He definitely became more serious, harder on her and Timmy, and they became a house full of strangers, not a family's home. She tried to do her best for Timmy, but her bright little boy would look at her with her liquid green eyes, so similar to the ones she saw when she looked in the mirror, and ask with a teary voice:

"Mommy, why doesn't daddy love us?"

She never figured out the answer to that question. Still she stayed, trying so hard to create a home for her little boy, and she was quite relieved when he started to take longer assignments out of the city, leaving her alone with Timmy on the base.

She showered him with attention and love, and taught him how to love and be loved, and how precious the love of a family could be. She would lay with him in the garden, and teach him to identify the stars and constellations, and promised him that, in the future, when he became tall and strong, he would create his own family, yes he would, and he would love and be loved something fierce, because that was her prayer to him. And his family would be beautiful.

In the one of his few visits home, Kieran had been in a particularly good mood, and treated Timmy nicely and Marianne as well. She accepted his change with a tiny bit of mistrust, and welcomed him in her arms and her bed, for the first time in many years.

That was when she conceived Sarah. Again, her husband, once told of the news, became excited, and received a new burst of family love, and when he saw the little girl in his arms, he was the perfect picture of a proud father. Sarah had him in her grasp from the very first moment she held his finger in her little ones, and he started to spend more time with the family, and talking with Timmy and Marianne. Both McGees, after being neglected for so long, were a little cautious at the beginning, but later on they welcomed this new Kieran with open arms.

This bliss lasted only five years, until Kieran's lover came knocking at the door, pregnant with their love child and demanding to speak to him.

After this, things got tense again, as the woman did not ask, she demanded Kieran's attention, and started to become a nuisance. Finally Marianne got pissed off, and ordered Kieran to decide, either their family or the parasite's. He promised to stay with them, and ordered the parasite away, and she moved to another city.

But he still left on assignments, and everything went straight to hell when one of his buddies decided to become overly friendly. She told him to go away, he didn't understand the meaning of the word no. And she was physically struggling with him when her Timmy comes in. He sees his mother in a difficult situation, and instantly reacts as the gentleman she taught him to be. He received a beating and a hospital stay as awards of his act of courage.

But, when Kieran comes home and accuses her of being an unfaithful slut, ah, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She served him the divorce papers the following week, and forbid him in court to visit the children.

When he fought for custody of the children, all she had to do was to show the pictures of Timmy's wounds to the appeals court, saying that her husband wanted to let her children to live close to people capable of doing that to her children, and the judge granted her full custody.

And so his persecution began.


	40. Thunderstorm

**Thunderstorm**

"Reservations for McGee, please," says the Commander, towering over the petite Asian maitre, who is looking at the computer searching for his name.

"Table for two, no?" she says in an undistinguishable accent.

He nods, and follows another Asian female, who is guiding him to one of the private set dinner tables, closer to a huge tropical aquarium on the wall, where colorful fishes swam placidly under blue lights.

He sat down, smiled at the waitress and just ordered a glass of water. He wanted to be sober for the conversation yet to come. He received some disturbing news from Mike. He said that he was under attack, and all six hackers who tried to pry loose the information Kieran had requested had been hunted down and executed. Besides that, several other business enterprises, both legal and illegal ones, had been suddenly attacked both by the local police and also by the FBI. It really sounded like a payback, and Mike had ordered him to make his move, otherwise he would.

And if Mike Murdoch made his move, there would be no survivors within a hundred miles radius of the blast.

So, with the information he had gathered, Kieran was ready to attack his little sissy son and that bunch of losers at NCIS. If he thought he could humiliate him like that, before the director of NCIS, and walk free, no, he was mistaken.

He contacted a news editor, who was known for airing the news first and asking questions later, and informed that he had hot news about the NCIS agent whose sister had survived Waverly. After all, despite Joy's passionate speech about the press invasion of the privacy of the survivors, they had backed down, but did not let go of the story completely.

Anyone who was freely willing to toss them a bone, they would attack like a pack of hungry wolves. And if there was one thing Kieran enjoyed, it was the feeding frenzy of predators on weaker prey.

He smiles thinking about the dirt he was able to dig up about the team, and also the dirt very expertly created by Mike's goons and sent to him. After he's done, his son would be sent to prison, for sure, and that stuck up Director would be fired and that cold eyed marine would be arrested for treason.

The waitress, a pixie looking brunette with violet eyes, serves him water, and he doesn't even thank her. She walks away to serve the next table. His attention is then turned to the entrance of the restaurant, where a gorgeous blonde, in a dark moss green dress, which flows over her body seductively, not hugging her curves, but giving a brief idea of the wonderful curves and strong muscles beneath the fabric, enters the restaurant and starts talking with the maitre. He gulps when the gorgeous blonde turns her head to him, and she smiles, a perfect white teeth smile.

She nods to the maitre, and another employee guides her to his table. He stands up when the goddess reaches him, and she opens a polite smile to him, all professionalism, and stretches her hand to greet him.

"Commander Kieran McGee, I presume," her polite voice is a caress to his ears, and her tone is totally professional.

"Yes, ma'am," he answers as they shake hands.

"I'm Tyla Hermann, editor on the CWTV channel," smiles Hope Buchanan, "we have business to discuss."

They sit down for dinner.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After some polite minutes talking about nothing important, Hope, disguised as Tyla Herman, gave Commander Kieran McGee the opening so they could go to what was really the topic of the evening: the commander's son, who was a NCIS agent and his sister, a survivor of the Waverly Massacre.

"Please, you mentioned on the phone that you could give us more," she lowers her voice, and makes a show of looking around for someone snooping on them, "exciting details so we may add to our dossier on them, and I have to confess, that really intrigued me. What could you possibly tell us that would be so shocking to cause the ripples you mentioned?"

Kieran smiles a cruel smile, which gives Hope chills of disgust, but she kept her fake smile firmly bolted to her face, and listened patiently to all the dirt, real and some very creatively spun, that Kieran was spilling to what he believed to be a member of the press. She felt fury, disgust and hate at this father, who would willingly disgrace his oldest son, only for the pleasure of retribution for real or imaginary disagreements.

All the conversation was not only being taped by a very creative bug installed under the table, as well as another one in the flower arrangement on the table, and another in the ornate lamp hanging from the wall, but it was also been simultaneously broadcast to all agents involved in the bust, from Hope's team to the NCIS team, all carefully hidden from view.

Her snoop team, two agents in a van down the block, two others in an office at the back of the restaurant, were carefully taking notes and ensuring that everything would be recorded to be used in court later on.

She smiled when she was supposed to smile, and took her glass and gulped all the water, just to keep her hands busy and not to draw her weapon and shoot the bastard point blank. As he mentioned another slur towards McGee, their McGee, sweet Timothy who brought her sister from the deep well of despair she had been in for so long and gave her something to laugh about again, she twitched, and slowly returned glass to the table and leaned her head to the left, listening to him with all her attention.

A brunette waitress came to her table, and served her more water. She looks up, and she smiles at Temp, and nods, thankful for her little sister.

Temp fills her cup with water, and turns to Kieran, "more water, sir?" He waves her away, and she leaves their table.

"Commander McGee," she starts, just to be interrupted by him, "Kieran, please." He smiles and leers at her, "no reason why we should be so formal."

She smiles politely, "I hope you understand, all the things you just told me, they are very serious accusations, do you have proof to back them up? Because I can't stake my news channel's and my credibility without proof. If they sue us, it might be the end of my career as editor in chief."

"Oh, but I do." He kicks a suitcase under the table, and pushes it towards her, "all the evidence you might need to unmask the corruption inside NCIS is in there. They are a nest of vipers, who must be stopped at all cost."

Hope takes the suitcase, and looks around for anyone watching them, and puts it on her lap. She glances at Kieran, and opens it, just a little gap so she may peek inside. Indeed, inside are several tapes and dossiers, some marked top secret and confidential.

"Is everything here?" she asks.

"Everything I could put my hands on, and so much more," says Kieran gleefully.

"Good," she smiles wolfishly, and closes the suitcase and returns it to her lap.

She leans over the table, and stretches her arm towards him, her hand palm up asking him to touch her. He happily complied, and he grasps her soft hand in his, and he is excited by the softness of her hand.

"You, Kieran, made me so happy today, and we became such good friends," she leans more, and whispers, "that I have two confessions to make to you." She blinks slowly, and Kieran leans over the table, and he feels himself drowning in these gorgeous blue pools studying him. She's still tracing faint circles on his palm, and he feels shivers running on his body. It's been a while since he felt such attraction.

"First, I really find you are a disgusting example of human cruelty, and that people like you should be tied to the hull of a space ship, and left to burn on the exit of the atmosphere," he frowns, and he feels her digging her well manicured nails in his wrist, like claws.

"My second confession," she smiles, "I'm not a TV editor," a shadow falls over their table, "I'm FBI," he looks up, and he sees the very unfriendly face of an older brunette with piercing violet eyes, and right beside her, the cold stare of his oldest son's boss, Agent Gibbs.

"I hope you don't mind," the older woman, in her forties, says, "We're joining the party."

"Of course not," says Hope, with a big smile, and she let's go of his hand. Gibbs forces him to slide deeper in the cushioned seat, and seats beside Kieran, all the time glaring at him.

"The more, the merrier," says Hope with a smile.

* * *

a/n: HEY! It's my birthday! I demand Reviews as gifts! HAHAHHAHA HAHAHAHAHA


	41. The biggest shitstorm of all times

**The biggest shitstorm of all times**

"Care to tell me, Kieran, what could you possibly have been thinking when you got mixed up with a mobster in NY?" asks Gibbs, playing with a bread stick.

"Listen, you have no idea what I can do to you," he turns to Hope and Faith, who are simply watching the two men, "I will have you arrested for intimidation of a Navy officer, and you," he points to Hope, who just smirks, "you will be arrested for criminal misrepresentation and presenting false credentials."

"What about your crimes?" Faith's gaze burns him, and she also had to restrain herself several times during his speech, because the lies he was spinning, if indeed Hope had been a journalist, would have hurt not only the NCIS agents, but the FBI as well.

"You accessed confidential files, you put at risk federal agents whose whole lives were dedicated to uphold the law and you created false documentation to bring disgrace to all of them. Not only that, you snooped around at what you had no right to look at, and stirred a hornet's nest that you have no way to control. Do you really think that your little friend, Mike, once given a chance of hacking in confidential files in the Pentagon, will stop?" says Faith.

"You're so irresponsible," says Gibbs, "that you gave them your access account to use as port of entry in the attack," he shakes his head, as he might not understand computers, but he understands human stupidity, "even if we had no idea why he would look at our files, we would eventually figure out that someone gave them the access," and he turns furious eyes to him, "and we would inevitably figure out that this someone is you."

"Listen, agent Gibbs, you have to understand…"

Gibbs is too furious to listen to him, and shuts him up with just a punch on the table, "NO, YOU LISTEN UP."

All the visitors on the restaurant become quiet, and look at their table.

"You'd better calm down, agent Gibbs, you don't want to make a scene," says Kieran smirking. He is sure that the agent doesn't want to call attention to them. After all, the scandal would be very useful to him, as he could use it as one of the necessary pieces to the downfall of NCIS.

"It doesn't matter if I make a scene," Gibbs says, "because you are vermin, and vermin must be squashed," he destroys the breadstick until it becomes just breadcrumbs, "and if I need to do it in public, fine with me."

"Are you really so arrogant to think that you can destroy me? If you create a scandal, I assure you that it will be your name dragged through the mud, not mine," says Kieran.

"I don't think so," says Hope, as she grabs a breadstick and puts butter on it, "as your name would be shit anyway, after we're finished with you." She bites the breadstick, and smiles.

"You can't be so sure."

"Ah, we can," says Faith, "as everyone inside this restaurant is FBI. And they all heard your plans, your accusations and your slurs, and they will all corroborate as witnesses against you, just in case you decide to try to attack us ever again."

Kieran freezes, as his mind takes a while to comprehend what has just been revealed to him. "What?"

He looks to the restaurant and indeed all the people present in the room are silently watching the scene. The waitresses, the maitre, the guests, they are just looking at him with calculating eyes, and there is a hardness in their stare, as he dared to threaten one of them, and he has walked into their den. They were all eager to protect one of their own, and they would take any action necessary to do so.

"Everyone?" he asks, unbelieving.

"Yep," says Hope, biting again her breadstick.

He walked in sure that he had the upper hand, and walked blindly into a dragon's lair, and he could feel the hot puff of smoke smoldering on his neck, like the burning gaze of the NCIS agent beside him.

Some people stood up from the neighboring table, and he recognized them as the other two agents from Timothy's team.

"We're going to give you one chance only to walk out of this room alive," says Gibbs, his hands turning into tight fists, "you will cease and desist any action against Timothy and against NCIS, and we will not drag you kicking and screaming to jail." He leans down, "if you don't do that, if you try to weasel your way again into Timothy's or Sarah's lives, and even try to contact them, we will hunt you down, and there will be no place where you can hide, because we will find you and when we find you," Gibbs grins evilly, "we will deal with you."

"That's blackmail," he sputters, not believing at their threats.

"No, dear," says Hope, smiling, "it's a friendly warning. We don't blackmail people, we usually kill them right away."

"The only reason," Ziva says, while cleaning her fingernails with one of her several knives, "why we're not killing you straight away, and throwing your body in the city sewers is that, for some irony of fate, you're McGee's father. And he would be very sad if his beloved father was murdered by our hands."

"So, I suggest you to really rethink your path in life, and start a new life, I don't know," Tony smiles, as he looks at Faith, "maybe join a Buddhist monastery, but you better stay out of our way."

"YOU CAN'T THREATEN ME, I'M A COMMANDER IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY," shouts Kieran, standing up and blushing brightly, almost blowing a gasket.

"AND YOU ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO YOUR UNIFORM AND THE CORPS," shouts Gibbs. He breathes deeply trying to control himself, and continues, "and a lousy father, who had everything one man could dream of, a brilliant son and a loving wife and a gorgeous daughter, and you threw it all away just because they didn't fit your little sick perfect picture."

Both Ziva and Tony lower their heads, as they hear the pain in their boss' voice.

"You are done here," Gibbs points to the door, "you will walk out of this place, and you will walk out of your kids' lives, and you will never threaten them again with your disgusting presence." He steps closer to the commander, and stands nose to nose with him, and stares him with his piercing blue eyes, "if you get near to them, I can guarantee you that your face will have several close encounters with my fist," he growls.

Commander Kieran McGee looks at Gibbs, then at the serious faces of the other NCIS agents and at the FBI agents in disguise, and the other one, older. He looks around again at the restaurant, and several guests had stood up, and they are all looking at him, with folded arms, others with their hands over their hidden gun holsters, just waiting for his final decision. He is painfully aware that, one wrong move from his part, his life would be terminated.

He looks back at Gibbs, and frowns, "why don't you simply arrest me straight away?"

Gibbs keeps studying Kieran, "Because, after all the slurs, the intrigue, and the hate, you are still Timothy's and Sarah's father," says Gibbs, and shakes his head, "no child should go through the shame and ignominy of having a dirty father like you dragged to the front page of all newspapers."

"So," says Faith, "just for the sake of your children, we will let you walk out of this room tonight. But we will be watching you, very carefully, and if you stray, if you attack them, or if you send someone after them, or one of us, or if they simply break one single nail," hisses Faith, "we will hunt you down, and we will destroy you. No matter what the cost."

Kieran looks at the furious brunette, then at the vicious smiles on the faces of Ziva and Tony, and at the furious Marine, that was barely restraining himself not to beat him to a bloody pulp. He evaluates his options, and he decides that walking out alive and whole was much better than any type of vengeance against his children he might consider.

He finally nods, and accepts his fate.

There is a deep collective breath taken in the restaurant, and people slowly returned to their meals, and the waitresses started to walk between the tables.

Gibbs is still staring at Commander Kieran, and saw his contained anger, and frustration at the situation.

"Ziva, Tony" he calls out, "you will escort Commander McGee to his taxi, and you two will go with him to his hotel, and ensure yourselves that he will pack his things and leave on the first flight out to his place."

"On it, Boss," both agents approached the commander, who sighed and started to walk towards the entrance of the restaurant, flanked by the two agents. He suddenly stops, and the two agents look at him, questioningly.

He turns, and looks at Gibbs, staring at him for a long minute. Finally, he asks something that has been bothering him since he met Gibbs, "why?"

Gibbs frowns at him, not understanding his question, and Kieran explains, "why are you so protective of the boy? He's just another agent under you, just a geek, useless in the field."

Ziva and Tony almost draw their weapons and shoot him point blank, such was their anger, but Gibbs growls and approaches McGee's father, and stares him down, "from the moment I met him, he was MINE. MY GEEK. MY PROBIE. I don't care if he's useless in the field, about which you are totally wrong, because he's a brilliant agent, but I handpicked him to be in my team, and he's one of the best agents ever to work for NCIS." He studies Kieran's face, which had become the definition of the word astonishment, with huge eyes looking at Gibbs. "He is MINE, and unfortunately, that's something that you will never understand."

Ziva and Tony grin widely at their boss, and grab each of the Commander's arms and forcibly dragged him out of the restaurant, under the careful eyes of all FBI agents in disguise in there.

Gibbs close his eyes, feeling emotionally drained, as he really wished he could have used his fists not once, but several times on his face, but they needed the evidence of his plans to use as leverage, and now, they had at least tied up his hands. If he twitched, if he tried anything against Tim or Sarah or anyone in NCIS, there was a room full of people who could corroborate with their version of the events.

A soft hand lands on his shoulder, and he turns to look down at Temperance, in her waitress uniform, who has a mobile phone on her hand.

"Wanna have the honors?" she asks with a smile.

He grins at Joy's little sister, takes the mobile phone, and start dialling a number in Norfolk.

It's done.

* * *

a/n: Hey, it is still my birthday... so I still demand reviews as gifts! come on! The two chapters of today were very special! So, be nice and comment on them.


	42. Cape Doctor

**Cape Doctor**

There was a whispered word in the criminal underground in NY. A message had been delivered, loud and clear, and the rival crime lords were gleeful about it. Mike had messed with the wrong people, and now he and his people were paying the price. In blood.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

That night, Tim and Joy were awakened by terrified screams. Tim recognizes Sarah's voice immediately, and both agents rush to her bedroom as the second tortured scream sounds. As soon as they enter, they find Matthew with a crying Sarah in his arms, slowly shushing her and drying her tears.

"What's wrong?" asks a sleepy Jake, and Priscilla is peeking at the crying adult from her mother's arms.

"Aunt Sarah has a owie?" Priscilla leans her head on her mother's neck, rubbing her eyes.

Matthew looks at Tim, with tortured eyes, as Sarah is gasping and crying in his arms, "It's ok baby, I've got you," he says against her hair. Tim approaches her bed, and he's sad to see her still tortured by her memories from Waverly.

"She will be fine," Joy rubs Jake's head, "go to bed, we'll talk tomorrow." He shrugs, and goes back to his room.

Lisa is looking at the young McGee, and turns to Joy, who is watching both Matt and Tim trying to calm her. Priscilla yawns, and closes her eyes, and Lisa leaves with her daughter, after Joy's reassurance that everything was under control.

"Good night, Lisa."

"Good night, Joy."

She looks back to the room, and the sobbing Sarah. Now both men were just there for her, Tim was holding his sister's hands in his, on his knees before her, while Matt was on the bed with her, sitting, his arms over her shoulders.

"Ok, you two, downstairs," she orders them, and they glance at her then at Sarah, "prepare some hot milk for her, I'll stay with her, go."

Both men reluctantly obey, after a reassurance squeeze on her hand from Tim and a soft kiss on her head from Matt. As both men leave the room, Joy approaches her bed and sits besides Sarah, who is breathing deeply, trying to control her panic.

"You must think I'm pathetic," says Sarah, between hiccups, "being scared like that, of my own shadow, disturbing everyone."

"No," Joy shakes her head, as she folds her legs under her body, and looks at Sarah, "I don't think so," Sarah looks at her, "I think you are a very brave person."

Sarah shakes her head in negative, "but you should, you should think that I'm a weakling, not dealing with it."

"Everyone deals with trauma in a different way, Sarah," Joy smiles at the youngest McGee, "there's no rule about how to deal with it, there is no right or wrong, there is just what it is."

"But I'm still terrified, every time I close my eyes, I see him, Wang, shooting our classmates, shooting _me_, I hear the flesh tear, and then I can't… I can't close my eyes. I don't want to."

"Yes, you can, and you will do it. It will take time, but one day you will close your eyes and you will not see that happening."

"Why can't I deal with it better? Why can't I forget?"

Joy looks at her hands, and her fingers trace the faint scars of the chains that held her prisoner while she was a hostage to Garnett, and she thinks about the several other scars she carries.

"You will never forget," Sarah looks at Joy, who has turned to her, "but you will learn how to live it with. Actually I think you are dealing with it very well. You are dealing with trauma your own way, and it seems to me much better at least than I did."

Sarah wipes her face, drying her tears, and sees a faraway look on the face of her brother's girlfriend. She remembers Joy's ordeal while she was kidnapped, and her state once she was finally found. If what her brother and Matthew whispered was to be believed, the first time that psychopath had kidnapped her, she had been in much worse shape. In a way that the whole family had gathered to say their goodbyes, as the doctors had despaired and told them she would not survive until morning.

"How did you do it? How did you continue living?" Sarah holds her breath, expecting a solution that she might follow to get out of this well of pain and despair she sometimes finds herself in.

"That's the point," Joy shakes her head in negative, "I didn't."

Sarah looks at her, confused, "but... you're here now."

"But I wasn't then." Joy sighs, deeply, and closes her eyes for a moment, "I gave up." She opens her eyes, and her gaze burns Sarah on its intensity, "You see, when I was told that my team had died, and that my partner, Eric, had killed them, it was like a huge part of me died with them. I did not sleep, I did not eat, I had no will to survive. I was merely vegetating."

Sarah folds one of her legs under body, imitating Joy's posture, and frowns at the older woman, "What happened? How did you get out of this…"

"Spiral down towards destruction," offers Joy with a self depreciating smile.

"Yes, what happened?"

Joy smiles, and she dives on the memory, "My brother happened. And my sister happened. Johnny and Hope united their forces and basically ordered me to react. They ensured that I bathed, I ate, I slept at the right times and they cajoled me, they irritated, sometimes were downright hostile to get a reaction, any reaction, from me. Johnny took leave from the Marines, and he and Lisa and the kids moved in with Dad in our house in Montana. He would carry me in his arms from my bed to the living room, and force his kids on me, and order me to interact with them, just to remember me that yes, they were dead, but I wasn't."

She looks down at Sarah, and continues her tale, "they hadn't buried me yet. And they refused to bury me for a long time still. I still had so much to live for, regardless of how much I wanted to give up. Hope would talk non stop, brush and braid my hair and take me to the garden and point to anything and everything and keep up that endless chatter." Joy laughs softly, remember the crazy endless chatter of her sister.

"They were great, and just because of them, I'm here today." Joy smiles at Sarah, and both women have tears on their eyes.

Sarah is silently crying, "They saved you, didn't they."

"Yes they did," says Joy softly, "They saved me from myself." Joy leans over and puts a hand over Sarah's lean shoulders, and hugs her against her own chest, "And you wanna know something really important?"

"What?"

Joy kisses Sarah's hair, and whispers against her ear, as she feels Sarah's shoulders shaking with her tears, "If it ever comes down to it, Tim would do the same thing for you. No questions asked. No hesitation."

The dam broke, and Sarah's tears of despair and hopelessness flowed freely, releasing the burden of guilt the young woman carried. Joy simply held her in her own arms, and waited for the storm to pass.

"He really loves me, doesn't he?" Sarah whispers.

"Yes he does."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

While both women talked upstairs, both Matt and Tim were in the kitchen. Matthew was looking for honey while Tim gets the milk out of the fridge and puts it in a small pan to boil. Matt puts the honey on the counter, but he's still looking for something in the cupboard.

"What are you looking for?" Tim is looking curiously at Matt, who is taking some of the things out of the cupboards to look for whatever he wants.

"Belgian cocoa powder, mom sends all her children for Christmas, and it is great for crying ladies, she says that they should patent it as a cure for PMS."

He stops as soon as he realizes what he said and to whom he said that, and looks at Tim, who only smiles and shrugs. Matt smiles and turns back to his search, and he almost shouts with joy when he finds the neat package. He gets it out of the cupboard and gives it to Tim, who adds a good dose of the delicacy to the milk.

"Thanks for being there for Sarah tonight," Tim says softly, without taking his eyes from the milk he's stirring.

Matt glances at McGee, and sees no hostility on Tim's face. He shrugs, no big deal, "She was crying, I just… acted on instinct."

Both men look at each other: one the concerned older brother, who had dedicated his entire life to protecting a little girl; the other, the man that apparently had chosen to love the woman the little girl had become.

"Did she," Tim starts to ask, then frowns as he sees Matt looking at him, just waiting, "Did she hurt you a lot, when… you were… during the shooting?"

Matt shrugs, unconcerned, "She bit me, she scratched me, but it was minor, she was scared. I understood then, I understand now. What really matter is that she's alive."

"Yes," Tim agrees. He glances at Matt, "Thanks," Matt looks at him, "thanks for saving her life."

Matt looks at the brother of the woman he loves, and the man his sister absolutely adores, "if I had to, I would die for her, man," Matt says, totally meaning it.

"I know. Thank God it didn't come to it." Both men smile at each other. Matt stretches his hand, and McGee, after a second of hesitation, shakes it firmly. The peace between the McGees and Buchanans was sealed.

The milk boiled.


	43. Moderate breeze

**Moderate breeze**

"GIIBBBSSS" shouts Abby, when he marches into her lab early in the morning the next day.

"What have you got, Abbs?" he looks at her plasma, and sees several chemical formulas on it, none that he recognizes.

"Lots and lots," she points to the jacket sent by the agents in Norfolk, "I tested Joy's theory on why Jethro reacted to the jacket," Abby smiles, "and she is right and, at the same time, wrong."

Gibbs looks at Abby, frowning, "How?"

"You see, she suggested that the cloth had been, at any moment in the previous days, been in contact with some type of drug, and that was why Jethro reacted all weirdo to it when he," she smiles, "got a the chance of sniffing it."

"So…" Gibbs is waiting for an answer.

"Well," Abby runs to her computer, and puts something on the plasma, "the jacket hasn't been in contact with a drug," she turns to Gibbs, "it had been immersed into it."

"What do you mean?" he goes around her workbench, and stares at the plasma.

"It is a strange method to silently smuggle drugs into the country, you dip the clothes completely in a liquid infusion of your drug of choice, the cloth absorbs it, you carry it through airport customs and none is the wiser about it," Gibbs turns to look at Abby, who is getting excited with her explanation.

"So, when it reaches its final destination, all the person has to do is to boil the clothes up to a certain temperature, with some specific ingredients and collect the paste from the chemical process. You put it away to dry it and, voila, ready to be sold in the streets," says Abby.

Gibbs looks at the plasma again, looking at a picture of the process being made, "wouldn't that affect the person who wears the clothes?"

"Oh, that," she goes back to her computer, "indeed my fearless leader," she clicks something and another pic appears on the plasma, "someone who actually got to wear the contaminated clothes with the drug has a very high probability of becoming high, or at least, suffering an overdose, depending on how long the cloth stays in contact with the skin and how much is absorbed, but apparently," she points to the jacket, "the only reason that we could pull something from this jacket, is because it hasn't been washed yet, so the levels of the drug are very high."

"So he's smuggling drugs into the country," says Gibbs.

"McGee mentioned that they got the jacket from the Beckinsales' house by mistake," says Abby.

"And petty officer Veseley took his son's uniform before being washed, and never returned it to his wife," says Gibbs. He immediately starts dialling Norfolk.

"Special Agent McGee speaking."

"McGee, go to the Beckinsales, take Mrs. Beckinsale into custody, we're on our way over."

"Sure, Boss," they disconnect.

"Good job, Abbs," he kisses her head, and starts marching out of the room, almost running over Temp, who has another box filled with evidence from autopsy for them to analyze. She drops the box on the work table, and looks at Abby.

"Where's the fire?"

"We got a break in the Veseley case." Abby approaches the table, and start getting the evidence out of the box, "more things from the shooting?"

Temp sighs, "yeah, it seems that as soon as we finish one pile, another one is just being delivered." Both women smile at each other, and start working on the evidence at hand.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

McGee and Joy drive over to the Beckinsale's home, and take a very surprised Mrs. Beckinsale into custody. Once in the NCIS Norfolk office, they put her into one of their interrogation rooms and let her simmer for a while, and check what they have gathered so far.

"What evidence has Tony and Ziva sent to you?"

"According to Ziva," he shows her some printed reports he got on his email today, "Mrs. Beckinsale's personal banking account has much more movement than it should have, thanks to her small private business. There are several deposits that do not match the movement of her store."

"A possible cover for their illicit business?"

"Just think about it?" says McGee, as he supports his six on the observation room table, "her husband smuggles the drug in, they process it somewhere in a secret lab, and the delivery, well,"he smiles, thinking about his theory, "all their customers have to do is order something on her website, they would receive the craft piece along with the drugs."

Joy looks back at the woman sitting in the interrogation room, "and no one would be the wiser," she says.

"Yeah," he also turns, so he may look at the woman sitting nervously in the room, "but where does Veseley enter the story?"

"He took the uniform," says Joy, "somehow he suspected it to be altered, and wanted to test his theory first."

"But he never revealed his suspicions to anyone."

"He didn't have time for it," Joy says, going to the door, "he was murdered before he revealed what he knew," both agents leave observation, and move to the interrogation room.

Tara Beckinsale stands up when the agents enter the room, and immediately starts speaking loudly, angry at their attitude.

"What is going on here? You have no right to take me from my home, and bring me to this filthy place, leaving me here for hours!"

"Please, sit down, Mrs. Beckinsale," says Joy, patiently.

"That's abuse of authority, should I seek legal representation? What is this about?"

Both agents sit down, and McGee opens a file, "sit down, Mrs. Beckinsale," he says firmly.

She looks from one agent to the other, and slowly sits down, but she still fidgets nervously in the seat, and her hands twist nervously over the table.

McGee gets a picture of the jacket, that they took from her house, and shows it to Mrs. Beckinsale.

"Do you recognize this?"

She looks at it, and frowns, "it's familiar, but…"she looks at them, and leans over the table, exasperated, "listen, I've been here for, what, God knows how long, and I would like to have some answers, what is this about."

Joy leaned over, "we're the ones asking questions here, not you." She point to the picture, "that's the jacket you gave to me when we left your house yesterday."

Tara looks at the picture, confused, and Joy keeps pressing on, "Do you remember going to your closet, hanging my jacket inside of it, then going back in there to get our things, and hand delivering us his and this jacket?"

"yes I remember, but, didn't I give you your jacket?" she looks confused at the agent, "is that a crime? Is that why to took me from my home, just because I didn't returning a stinking jacket?"

"No, Mrs. Beckingsale, the problem is not that, the problem is the jacket you gave us, well, it has been coated with heroine." Says McGee.

"What?" the woman was shocked, and she stared at the picture of the jacket as if it was a poisonous viper ready to strike, "how?"

"Well, that's what we would like you to explain to us." Says Joy, studying her facial expressions to see any untrue reaction. However, her disgust and shock seemed genuine, which kind of put a hole on their theory. Joy glances at Tim, and sighs.

Tim leans down towards her, and points to the jacket, "Mrs. Beckinsale, where did you buy this jacket?"

"I didn't buy it," she says, still in shock, "It was a gift from my husband, I guess. I've never used it, I just hung it in the closet directly from the plastic it came from, I already have so many." She shakes her head, desolated.

Tim looks at Joy, trying to read what she's thinking on her face, "where did he buy it?"

Maybe they had been wrong all along, she's not involved, she's not aware of what is happening.

"Buy it?" Tara shakes her head, "He brought it from South America, he always brings almost a full new wardrobe, for all of us, whenever he travels abroad. He also ordered the uniforms of the team custom made and sent to us." She looks at the agents, with teary eyes, "Why?"

"Where is he?" presses down Tim. Tara looks at Tim as if he had grown a second head, exasperated.

"Well, where do you think he could possibly be? As I was brought here, I called him and told him to pick up our boy at school for me."

Joy looks at McGee, and both leave the room, leaving Mrs. Beckinsale with a marine as escort. Once they are in the corridor, Tim gets his mobile phone and starts dialing.

"Gibbs." Tim can hear that the traffic on the background. He puts the call on the speakerphone.

"Where are you now, Boss?"

"Just entering Norfolk limits, where are you?" they keep walking out of the office, towards his car.

"NCIS Norfolk office," says Tim, and he looks at Joy and gives him the latest news, "Go straight to Cedar Hills High School, it's the father."

"The father?" growls Gibbs, and he presses his feet down on the accelerator.

"Boss, the father is a drug mule, he's using his family as a cover, according to his wife he's going to the school to pick up his son," says Joy. She opens the car door, and she freezes, as her mind made a leap that scared her.

"My God," Joy says. She looks at McGee with terrified eyes, "Rick is there." McGee stares at her for a second, until his mind arrives at the same conclusion hers did.

"Jake!"


	44. Fresh

**Fresh**

"When did you start to learn how to play bass?" Rick looks up to his newest hero, and Jake messes up his hair, holding his skate board in his other hand.

They had left school a couple of minutes before, and Jake, as he had promised to his aunt Joy, was walking Rick towards his house.

_Maybe this special agent business is not that bad_, he thinks.

"You see, in my family, grandpa incited everyone to play an instrument. He himself plays cello and a very mean guitar. My dad, whenever he's home from Afghanistan, plays acoustic guitar too. I've learned guitar also, but my dad suggested me to try out the bass, and whenever he's home, he plays with me, so it's a good thing for us to do together," says Jake.

"That's so cool," says Ricky, "I wish I had a grandpa who could play a guitar. Mine just knows how to play poker."

Jake keeps walking, and thinks a little, and looks at the forlorn little boy walking besides him. _Oh, what the hell_.

"If you want, I could teach you." _There it is._

"You could." Little Rick froze, and was looking at the older boy with disbelieving eyes. How could someone be so nice to him? Jake looks down at the little boy, and simply shrugs, as if it is no big deal.

"Sure, so, when you grow up, you teach your kids, and so on." They start walking again.

"That's gross." Jake laughs, as that was the same thing he said to his father when he incited him to start learning guitar.

"No it's not." He smiles at the memory, "see it this way, you will be starting a tradition. You learn how to play a guitar, then your kid learns from you, then your grandchild learns how to play it as well, so you will always be remembered in the family line as the one who introduced guitar playing into your family." Rick is walking looking at his new friend, "this way, you will be immortal between the generations."

Rick frowns, thinking about what Jake said, "you really think so."

"Yep." He grins, and Rick grins right back at him. Both kids keep walking down the lane, and a car drives by them, stops, and reverses until it stops besides them.

"RICK," a male voice shouts. Rick looks to the car, and he recognizes Mr. Beckinsale, from his baseball team games.

"Hi, Mr. Beckinsale," he shouts back, and smiles at the adult.

"Wanna a ride home? Hop in the car," Mr. Beckinsale leans down, and lowers the window to talk to them. However, Rick already has a companion on his way home, and doesn't hesitate to say that to the adult.

"I'm going with my friend already," he waves goodbye, and starts walking, "but thanks anyway."

Mr. Beckinsale is not to be easily convinced, and starts moving the car slowly along with the kids.

"Ah, come on, I can give both of you a ride." Jake is just watching the exchange, and he looks briefly at Rick, before staring again at the adult inside the car. Rick glances at Jake, and shrugs, and starts walking towards the car, but Jake stops him before he takes two steps.

"No," he puts a hand on Rick's shoulder, and doesn't let him step away from him.

"Why?" Jake is still staring at the adult, and he, for some reason, feels that there's something wrong going on.

"Aunt Joy said to trust no one. And she made me promise to take you home. So I don't trust him." Jake squeezes lightly Rick's shoulder, trying to transmit his efforts to follow his aunt's instructions.

"But it's Mr. Beckinsale," insists Rick, "he was friends of my dad's."

"It doesn't matter, I promised Aunt Joy I would keep you safe," says Jake, at the same time Mr. Beckinsale leaves his car and walks to the eight year old and the sullen looking 14 year old boy, with a big smile on his face.

"So, guys, are coming or not? I can give both of you a ride."

"I don't think so, sir," says Jake, looking at the smiling stranger coming towards them, "my mom taught me not to ride with strangers."

"But I'm not a stranger," insists Mr. Beckinsale, and he turns to the younger boy, "right Rick?"

Rick looks up from Mr. Beckinsale to his new friend, who up until now had protected him from bullying and had taken him to meet nice people and had offered to teach him how to play guitar. He frowns, as he considers his options, but in the end, he decides to take a new path.

"I will stay with my friend, Mr. Beckinsale," says Rick finally, "and we're almost there, and he promised to teach me how to play the guitar."

The smile on Mr. Beckingsale diminishes a little, and he glances from the little boy to the teenager.

"Really, that's so nice of him." Mr. Beckingsale stands up and looks at the young teen for a moment, measuring him up and Jake starts to feel uncomfortable under his stare.

"Sir," he starts speaking, but he's surprised by a punch hitting in his solar plexus, and he goes flying backwards on the grass. Rick starts screaming, and the adult catches the little boy by his waist, and starts dragging the hissing and biting boy to his car.

Jake, however, stands up as soon as he can see straight, and tackles Mr. Beckinsale like a football player, bringing him to the ground. The adult loses his grasp on the boy, who starts hitting him. The adult stands up and struggles with the teenager, who is screaming at the little boy to run. He gets distracted, and Mr. Beckinsale hits Jake again, who falls to the floor.

Rick starts to run, but he freezes when he sees Mr. Beckinsale punching and kicking the fallen figure of the teenager, who had, in such short time, turned his friend.

"NOOOO," Ricky screams, and he runs back and starts attacking Mr. Beckinsale, with all his fury, and big fat tears of helplessness start to run down his young face.

"STOP HURTING MY FRIEND!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The Charger stopped with a screech before the school, and in seconds Gibbs, Tony and Ziva had left the car and were running towards the sea of children who were leaving the building and going to several school buses in the parking lot.

They see an adult, probably the teacher, standing by the door, and rush to meet her. She frowns as she is assaulted by three out of breath individuals.

"Richard Veseley and Jacob Buchanan, have they left yet?" A gray haired man asks her, immediately shoving his federal ID on her face. He's flanked by a beautiful brunette and a tall gentleman, and they are all busting with nervous energy.

"Little Rick?" the brunette nods.

"Yes, he asked to attend band practice of Jake's band, then once the rehearsal was over, they left."

"When was that?"

"They've left, five minutes ago," she looks at them, and starts to feel anxious, "is something wrong?

Tony and Ziva look down the road, at the several kids running, how could they find them?

"Which direction?" asks the tall gentleman. She is feeling overwhelmed, so she takes a second to answer.

"WHICH DIRECTION?" growls the gray haired man, and she points towards the tree laden lane to the left, that leads towards the Veseley's home.

"That way!"

Gibbs, Ziva and Tony start running towards the direction the boys took without even a backwards glance to the teacher, who is left staring at their backs.

They hope they're not too late.


	45. Strong breeze

**Strong**

Matthew was feeling antsy, tired of being coped up inside for so long with a five year old and a hyperactive dog. Sarah smiles indulgently at him and suggests that he should burn some energy with Jethro. Matt laughs, and looks down at the dog.

"Wanna go out for a run?"

Both Sarah and Matthew laugh as the dog goes running to his corner in the kitchen, almost slamming against the cupboards as he slides on the cold tiles, takes his leash and brings it to Matthew, depositing it before him and whining excitedly at the perspective of leaving the house.

"Ok, I got the message," Matt rubs the dog behind his ears, and starts to get ready for a jog.

Once in the street, he stretches a little, and starts on an easy pace, which the dog easily follows. As he gets further down the road, he turns and continues running, towards the park he had seen when he drove by earlier the other day.

He's taken by surprise, though, when Jethro freezes, twitches his ears, and starts barking like crazy.

"What's wrong, buddy?" he stops, and he shouts when Jethro simply takes off, running down the street, and the leash escapes his hand.

"JETHROOOOO," he shouts, as he starts to run after the dog, who abruptly takes a left and keeps on running as if the hounds of hell were after him.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The Porsche Boxter was roaring down the streets of Norfolk, changing lanes and overtaking slower moving cars.

As they overtook another car, McGee looked at Joy, who was driving, and held on for dear life, and started praying to at least get there in one piece. He sees the lights changing, from green it turns yellow, and Joy steps on the accelerator making the car go faster.

"Oh, oh, Red light," the lights become red and cars start crossing the intersection, yet Joy speeds up the Porsche, "red light, RED LIGHT!"

For some miracle, and a screech from McGee, Joy goes through the red light without stopping, and missing an SUV by a couple of inches. McGee starts to hyperventilate, and shouts at her:

"WHERE DID YOU LEARN HOW TO DRIVE?"

They pass another car in a dangerous maneuver, and the brakes screech as she makes a turn, and McGee feels the G-force pressing him against the door, the seatbelt cutting him on the neck.

"On an airplane tarmac in area 51," says Joy without taking her eyes from the road, overtaking another car. McGee turns to stare at her, and feels his mind trying valiantly to process the information at the same time it is screaming at the current danger he's in.

"What? Area 51?"

Another crazy maneuver, this time almost hitting a delivery truck, and McGee is staring at Joy behind the wheel as if she has informed him that she's Elvis.

"Area 51? But that base doesn't exist!"

Joy stays silent.

"That's a myth," insists McGee, and when he turns his eyes back to the road, he shouts "BUS, BUS!" Joy reduces the speed, and overtakes the bus, that had stopped to let some passengers go down.

"That's not a myth," says Joy, as she crisscross between the cars going on the avenue. She glances at him quickly, and turns her attention back to the road, "That's where my mom works. And, eventually, my dad."

"I thought your dad was retired," says McGee.

"He still consults sometimes."

"But the rumors, the UFO sightings, that…"

"Just hype, but the base does exist, the one they go crazy about over the conspiracy theories is a decoy, the real one is in the middle of the desert, 50 miles south."

McGee turns to stare at the road ahead, and closes his eyes, as a thousand different thoughts ping pong in his mind.

"The UFOs …" he starts, and Joy interrupts him, "highly specialized military aircraft prototypes. Usually one of a kind."

McGee shakes his head, "How were they able to hide this for so long? Why?"

Joy bites her lips, and simply says, "That's classified, Tim." She glances at him, "so now you know why we have to be so careful, why mom protects us, all of us so fiercely." McGee rubs his face with his hand.

He looks out of the window, "the school is this way," he points to the exit she just drove by.

"They are not there," says Joy, as she turns right in one street, then left.

"How do you know?"

"I just know, trust me," she slows down, then turns in a quiet street, with several trees on it. Three blocks ahead, there is a dark blue SUV stopped in the middle of the road, the passenger door opened.

They approach the car, and Joy hits the brakes as soon as she sees Mr. Beckinsale kicking someone on the ground, and a very angry Rick kicking him and punching him in the leg, trying to stop him.

Joy stops the car totally, as soon as she and McGee recognize the figure laying down on the floor.

It was Jake.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The sound of brakes did not stop Mr. Beckinsale's furious assault on the teenager, neither the feeble hits by the little eight year old. He was blinded by his anger at the situation and the interference of curious little brats, they should pay.

"FREEZE, FEDERAL AGENTS," someone shouts, and the sound penetrates the red mist that was blinding him. He turns, and sees two people, the agents from the other day, from the game, pointing guns at him. How dare them!

"Step away from the boy!" says the female agent, and Mr. Beckinsale grabs Rick and uses him as a shield, and draws his pocket knife and slides the blade out, touching Rick's neck.

"What? Are you going to shoot me?" he sneers at them, "shoot me and the kid is dead."

The two agents walk around their car, a Porsche – since when can cops afford Porsches? - and approach him, and he presses the blade deeper against the neck of the kid, who is now crying and whimpering like the baby he is.

He sees the female agent glancing at the teenage boy on the ground, who is not moving, and then back at him.

"Come on, shoot me!" he is teases them, "you won't shoot me, not while I hold the boy." He laughs.

"You killed Petty Officer Veseley," says the man, standing his ground, as the woman steps around him, blocking his escape route to his own car.

"Damn man, he stumbled on my little lab one day, he was going to report me, I couldn't let him do it," snarls Malcolm, looking from one agent to the other.

"So you killed him, and now were going to kidnap his son," says the female agent, her gun still pointed at him.

Rick was still crying, and Mr. Beckinsale squeezes him against his chest, bringing a gasp of pain of the little boy, "damn boy was with him that day, I couldn't let him talk about what he saw with his father."

"Let him go," orders McGee, with his gun pointed at him. He didn't want to shoot, as Rick's head was too close from the man's head. The man snarls at them, and looks down at Jake.

"If it wasn't for this stupid kid," he kicks Jake again in his stomach, and Jake just moans on the ground. Joy flinches, and she's very tempted to shoot the bastard, but she can't get a good shot from where she is, and the Rick is wiggling too much on his arms, she couldn't predict his movements.

"Let him go," orders McGee, still holding his gun ready to any opportunity he might have.

"I'M NOT GOING TO PRISON," shouts Malcolm.

While the adults were talking, Jake opens his eyes and looks at the crazy man with Rick. He looks around and, from his position on the ground, he sees something on the grass, under the hedge fence, and stretches out his hand for it.

"YES, YOU ARE," shouts Gibbs, who just turned around the corner with Ziva and Tony hot on his heels. They all draw their weapons, and join the standoff.

"It's over. Let the kid go," says Tony, his finger twitching on the trigger. Ziva takes a step closer, trying to choose where to shoot him without hurting the hostage.

"No," hisses Malcolm, as he presses the knife on Rick's neck, drawing a little bit of blood, "I will not…AARRRGHHH," Malcolm shouts, and drops his knife and Rick, and his hands rush to his leg, as Jake had stabbed it with the blade of a garden scissor.

Rick falls to the ground, and Malcolm looks at Jake, and shouts, "YOU SON OF A BITCH."

Jake takes the scissors from Malcolm's leg, then stabs him again, this time on his left foot, sinking the blade through the tennis shoe until it hits the grass underneat, bringing a roar of pain from the man.

Jake then grabs Rick, and moves away from the writhing man, who has fallen to the ground and holding his leg, and whose feet was stuck to the ground by the scissors blade.

"MY MOM IS A LADY, YOU BASTARD," shouts Jake, carrying the little boy away three steps, and falling to the ground crying.

The agents rush to the wounded man, still with their weapons pointed at him, but he crawls towards the knife, and as he turns to slash McGee in the face a snarling mass of fur flies over the hedge fence and hits Mr. Beckinsale full throttle. Jethro grabs his arm and squeezes it between his jaws, and Mr. Beckinsale cries out as the dog makes mincemeat of his wrist.

"JETHRO!" shouts McGee, as Jethro moves his head, bringing shouts of pain of the man.

"JETHRO, STOP!" shouts McGee again, and the dog steps back, still snarling at the man, who is now whimpering in pain.

Gibbs approaches the man, and forces him to stand up, and Ziva, smiling, puts on evidence gloves on and takes the scissors from his foot, bringing a shout of pain from Malcolm.

As she sees the situation is under control, Joy rushes to Jake, who is shushing a crying Rick, and at the same time looking at the man with hatred. Rick was hugging Jake, his little arms squeezing him around his neck for dear life.

She kneels before him, and starts checking him for injuries. He has a black eye, and a busted lip, and from the way he was moving, his back and middle must be hurting a lot, but he still would not let go of the little boy hanging from his neck, "you ok, Jake?" she touches his face, gingerly touching his black eye.

"I didn't break my promise, Aunt Joy," says Jake, between his sobs. Joy caresses his face, and smiles down at him. Tony, after helping Ziva to cuff the man, approaches Joy and the two kids, and overhears the conversation.

"What promise?" asks Tony. Gibbs ordered Ziva to go collect their car, dialed emergency services for medical support and approaches them in time to overhear Joy's answer.

"I made him promise to watch over Rick, be his bodyguard." Gibbs studies the teenager, with long reddish brown bang falling over his forehead, crying and holding a crying boy in his arms.

"He was going to hurt him," Jake says, between sobs, and he brings his sleeved arm to clean his face, just making a bigger mess.

"You did good, son," says Gibbs, as he looks up and sees an out of breath Matthew running towards them two blocks down the road. Matthew stops and leans against a tree, and frowns at the scene before him.

"You did really good," says Gibbs.


	46. Thermal

**Thermal **

They wait for the paramedics to take Mr. Malcolm Beckinsale to the hospital, and Tony and Ziva go with him, keeping him in custody while the doctors patch him up.

His wounds are painful, but not life-threatening, so he's released into the agents' custody to be taken to the regional office. Gibbs, of course, has the honor and the pleasure of grilling the man, who folds under his stare and confesses his role in the transport of the drugs, giving names, places and people involved. He insists that his wife knew nothing about it, and Gibbs says that, given the circumstances, they wouldn't arrest her until they found proof connecting her with the drug trafficking.

Joy takes Jake to the hospital, along with little Rick, who simply refuses to leave his hero's side. After much moaning and complaining, the doctors inform them that Jake, despite the black and blue bruises, was a very lucky lad, as he was just sore, and should stay at home for at least two days until his bruises did not make him look like a raccoon any longer.

Joy takes both kids back to the Norfolk office, and she's not surprised to see Lannie arriving with her baby in her arms, wanting an explanation of the message she had left earlier.

"It was Mr. Beckinsale, Lannie," says Joy, guiding her to one of the waiting rooms.

"Malcolm? How? Why? Why would he want to kill my husband?" Lannie hugs her baby tighter, and one hand goes to bring Rick closer to her, as he was hugging her by her waist, "What could he possibly be thinking?"

"Do you remember the episode you mentioned to us," says McGee, approaching the widow, "when Lawrence, as soon as the new uniforms arrived, did not let you wash it and took it away, never giving you an explanation about it?"

"Yes, but," she is still confused, "my husband was murdered for not returning our boy's uniform? It doesn't make sense!" She looks at the agents, silently begging them to receive a rational explanation for something that is not rational at all. Why would someone kill her husband? Why?

Joy glances at Tim, who silently guides the confused widow to one of conference rooms, and explained that her husband had stumbled upon Mr. Beckinsale's lab, and had become curious about the uniforms. He took the uniform to test his theory, but he had never had the chance of exposing Malcolm's crimes as he was murdered shortly thereafter.

While McGee spoke with the widow, Gibbs leaves the interrogation room with the cuffed suspect, and hands him to the marines to book him. Gibbs looks up the corridor, towards the waiting rooms of the Norfolk office, and sees Joy silently watching him. She smiles a tiny smile, and walks back to the waiting room where Jake is sitting forlorn, nursing his bruises.

She sits beside her nephew, and sighs, closing her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry," she says to Jake.

He turns his head to look at her, and frowns, and grimaces as it hurts to move his facial muscles, "Why?"

She looks at him, and sits closer to him, throwing an arm over his gangly shoulders and pulling him against her side. He resists a little, until she lifts her right eyebrow, as if asking 'duh, so what, you don't want a hug?'. He smiles a little, and burrows into her hug.

Joy murmurs against his hair, "It was supposed just to be a simple assignment, just look out for bullies," she leans back, and studies his bruised face, "I've never wanted you to have to face crazy sociopaths, that's my job, not yours."

Jake smiles at his aunt, "but I did that," he shrugs, "there were some stupid kids who were trying to mess with Rick, then me and my buddies, we stopped them." Joy smiles, proud of her nephew, "We also invited him over to hang out during our band practice, and I offered to teach him how to play acoustic guitar."

"That's nice, Jake," she rubs her nephew's arm, "I'm proud of you."

"Wanna know something that I was thinking about lately?" Jake frowns, and his eyes get a faraway look, "I think, doing this, made me realize," he looks at Joy, "if something happened to my dad or my mom, I would want to have someone watching over me, someone to watch my back."

Joy shakes her head, resolute, "if something happened either to John or Lisa, you would never be left alone," Jake looks at his aunt, "we would always be there for you Jake. Always."

They hear loud voices coming up the corridor, and finally Lisa arrives to the door of their room, guided by a harassed DiNozzo, "WHERE IS MY BOY?"

Joy looks down at Jake, and rolls her eyes and stands up and takes a step back, as Lisa marches into the room and latches on to Jake, moaning at his wounds and hovering like the mother hen she is.

Joy just watches the interplay silently, and bears the angry glares of her sister-in-law silently. After checking his wounds and having her hands batted away by Jake, she turns to Joy and hisses, "you've never mentioned he might get hurt!"

Gibbs enters the waiting room, along with Matthew, Ziva and Tony, who are watching the two Buchanan women clash.

"I'm sorry, Lisa, I've never wanted this to happen," says Joy, but what Lisa does not have in height she has in fury, "I've opened my home, I've welcomed you, and you put my baby, my son, in danger, how could you?"

"Mom!" moans Jake, blushing, but Gibbs decides to stop the escalating argument.

"Mrs. Buchanan," Lisa looks at him, still furious, and Gibbs has to congratulate Johnny, he has chosen a woman after his own heart, and she is a glorious redhead, "your son was great today," Jake blushes under the praise, and Lisa starts to calm down, "without his assistance, the suspect would have gotten away and a very important witness would have been kidnapped."

Lisa glares at Gibbs, then looks down at Jake, "Is this true, Jake?" The teenager just shrugs, embarrassed.

Ziva enters the conversation, "Indeed, he was instrumental in the apprehension of our suspect, and the rescue of our witness. If, some day in the future, he decides to make a career in law enforcement, he would be a great federal agent."

"Really?" Lisa glances at Joy, who is smiling at her team-mates, "Yes, ma'am, he would."

All adults look at the teenager, who is almost shrinking into himself on the sofa, trying to hide his embarrassment from the adults in the room.

"So, what do you think, Jake? Would you like to be a Fed like your aunties?" Matthew sits down besides Jake, and pokes him in the ribs, and the teen grimaces in pain, "sorry, man."

"It's ok, Uncle Matt," Jake glances at Matt, then at the smirking gray haired man, who he now knows is his auntie's boss, "I actually was thinking about joining the marines, just like my dad," he mumbles.

"It would be a very worthy choice," says Gibbs, who approaches the teen, silently asking him to look at him. Jake feels the silent order, and looks at him, "but it wouldn't be easy, I won't lie to you. But if you feel that's what you want to do, I recommend it."

"But if you are doing it for the thrill of it," says Matt, smirking at Joy, "don't do it, because you don't have to join the marines to have people trying to kill you. You can always simply be a Buchanan."

All adults laugh, and even Jake cracks a small smile.


	47. Whistling winds

**Whistling winds**

"MR. GWWWWIBBBS" shouts Priscilla as soon as she sees Gibbs coming into her house, running from the living room to the corridor and latching onto his legs. Gibbs smiles at the little girl, who immediately lifts her arms, silently demanding to be carried.

"Priscilla, where are your manners?" says Lisa, horrified.

"No, it's ok," says Gibbs, while Priscilla is just repeating, "up, up, up, UP!" until he takes her into his arms. As soon as she is in his arms, she latches on his neck and leans her head on his shoulders, and for the first time in many years, Gibbs' arms are filled with a sweet smelling little girl. He feels his heart constrict, as he remembers long forgotten nights and days with Kelly, who would hug him in the same fierce hug as Priscilla.

McGee and Joy watch Gibbs with the little girl, smiling at the bittersweet scene, "hey Boss, come on in, we'll have dinner before we leave to DC," Joy approaches them, but the little girl refuses to leave his arms.

Tony smiles, "I think you have a fan, Boss."

"Let her be with me for a while," says Gibbs softly, and he walks to the living room and sits with the little girl, who immediately starts telling him all of her day with auntie Sarah and auntie Matt and the big bad doggie Jethro.

Tony and Ziva sit down in the living room, greeting Sarah, who was collecting some toys from the floor and the cushions, so they may sit.

"How are you Sarah?" asks Ziva, examining the youngest McGee and she is happy with what she sees: Sarah seems much calmer and aware than the last time they had seen her, just at a glance in the bullpen.

"I'm better," she looks at Gibbs and smiles at Priscilla, who is now showing him one of her dolls, "it was good to leave DC for a while, I was feeling trapped, and the thing with my father…" Sarah shudders and Gibbs frowns and tenses as he sees her reaction, but thankfully Priscilla doesn't notice that, and keeps chattering away.

"He won't bother you or your brother again, we guarantee you this," says Gibbs, dead serious.

Sarah, who is not aware of what exactly happened in DC, knows that her brother received a phone call last night that made both him and Joy rush to their bedroom and stay there talking for a long time.

"You haven't hurt him or killed him, have you?" says Sarah, looking at Gibbs, concerned not about her father, but about the repercussions for the agents.

Ziva and Tony start laughing, knowing that would be the first logical conclusion, and Gibbs smirks, shaking his head.

"No, we didn't kill him," says Gibbs.

"We…" Ziva looks at Tony, then at Sarah, "kind of castrated him for a while. He won't be bothering you soon. And if he does, he will regret it."

"Ah, he will," growls Gibbs, and Priscilla glances up to him, and smiles innocently, "wanna play with my ponies?"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Dinner had a bittersweet air to it, as Jake was basking in the attention his battle wounds were getting from Sarah, to Matt's chagrin, who was growling every time Sarah would run her hand over Jake's head and hair. Joy, Lisa and Ziva ruled over the kitchen, preparing a delicious meal - Cajun chicken and Israeli style rice with roasted nuts - for the agents before their trip to DC.

Timothy and Tony were talking shop, and Tony was giving him an update on how they put a lid on his father's attempts to harass him. Tim laughs wholeheartedly at Tony, who is mimicking Hope's femme fatale performance.

Jethro, the dog, was sitting faithfully beside Priscilla's high chair, from where she would still smuggle tiny bits of fried chicken for him, despite several complaints from her mother.

The agents laughed and relaxed, for the first time in days, and were very sad to take their suitcases to their cars and bid the family goodbye. Jethro barked happily, running around Jake, who was trying to guide him to McGee's car. Priscilla had again demanded to be picked up in Gibbs' arms, and was whimpering because she didn't want her playmate to leave. After some poking and blackmail, - "yes, we can keep Jethro next time McGee travels, no, you can't take him to your nursery school." – she finally let go of Gibbs' neck and went to her mother's arms.

They said goodbye to Jake, Lisa and Priscilla, and Matt and Joy entered Joy's car, while the McGees were travelling in the Porsche with Jethro. Gibbs would drop Ziva and Tony at their respective houses, and collect them the following morning so they could go to the Yard to work and get their own cars. They wave and leave the sleepy city of Norfolk around eight for the three hour drive back to DC.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

They enter the city limits five minutes past eleven, and each car blinks their lights to the other and turns on their own exits. Joy let Matt drive back to DC, and they head towards Georgetown, while Gibbs takes first Ziva, then Tony, to their own places. They are all exhausted, and they wanted their well deserved rest.

McGee, after blinking his lights as he sees Joy taking the exit towards Georgetown, keeps driving towards Silver Springs. He glances to the passenger seat, and he has to smile at his sister sleeping, exhausted, with her head on a heart cushion that Priscilla insisted on giving her. He was happy that he had apparently settled his disagreement with Matthew and, if the lingering looks between his sister and the youngest Buchanan were any indication, they also had had the chance to talk.

Some minutes later, he stops the Porsche in his designated parking spot in his building, and tries to wake his sister, "Sarah, we're here."

She blinks, owlishly, "Uhm? Where?"

"My place, come on, you bring Jethro and I'll bring the bags," says Tim, opening the door. She stretches for a whole minute, under the careful eye of her brother, then leaves the car and calls the dog, who is also moving slowly.

"Come on, big baby, we're home," she says to Jethro, and guides the dog into the building, followed by her brother, who is carrying their things.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Matt and Joy arrive at the townhouse, and Matt immediately goes to the sofa, jumping on the comfortable leather and hugging a pillow. He's tired, after driving for three hours, but he's feeling energized, and he knows he won't be able to fall asleep unless he burns some nervous energy.

Joy, however, goes to the kitchen and starts to boil some water, to prepare some aromatic tea to relax and help her sleep. She goes through her cupboards, finds some wild berry tea that her brother sent from Germany, and leans against the fridge, just waiting for the water to be ready.

She blinks, sleepily, as finally her body is shouting at the maniac rhythm she had imposed on herself these last few days. The order of her commitments tonight was: first, a cup of tea, then a long hot shower and, finally, a dive in her fluffy bed surrounded by pillows.

She yawns as sleep is attacking her, and she sighs as she remembers she won't have her human full body bed heater to hug her tonight. _Later_, she promises herself.

The water boils, and she had just started to prepare her tea when Matt comes into the kitchen, "Hey sis, I'm going for a drive, I'm too wired to sleep."

She gets her tea cup, and sips the hot tea smiling, and says without looking up from her cup, "say hi to Sarah for me."

He smiles, self-consciously, as he was indeed very predictable. He grabs the car keys of the rental he had left in the garage when he went to Norfolk, and closes the front door with a bang, locking after himself.

Joy simply smiles, blows at the hot tea, and slowly climbs the stairs to the upper floor, to take a shower and prepare for bedtime.

* * *

a/n: Guys, get ready for the final confront...


	48. Thunder

**Thunder**

Ziva enters in her apartment and locks the door, throwing the key on the small kitchen counter. She walks to her bedroom without turning the lights on, and as she starts to take her jacket she freezes. Her Mossad honed senses sense something, and she slowly reaches her hand to one of her several knives she carries hidden on her body, and simply waits for the right time.

A shadow moves in her bedroom, and it jumps on her, the flash of a blade shining in the light coming from the window. As it comes down towards her, she retaliates, throwing her blade which sinks into her attacker's chest.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joy goes to her suite, which she sometimes shared with Tim, and closed the door. She left her hot tea on the small writing table, took her gun and her badge and put them inside the first drawer of her commode, and slowly started to take her clothes off so she may shower. She's too tired to take a bath. She yawns again, and puts on a soft plush robe and enters the bathroom.

However, as she turns on the shower, the doorknob of front door of the townhouse is slowly attacked until, with a click, it opens. Three men enter the house, and spread out in the living room. The last man to enter closes the door after himself, and points to the stairs that lead to the first floor. The men look around, and start walking towards the stairs, and towards the woman completely unaware of the danger she's in.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tony, as soon as he entered his apartment, went to his DVD collection and picked one of the classics he owned. Despite his fatigue, he was aware that only after he unwinds a little his brain will finally rest enough so he can catch a few winks. He pops the DVD in the player, and goes to the kitchen to prepare some microwave popcorn to go with the movie.

The first notes of the music of Casablanca fill the living room, and he grins, as he turns on the microwave for two minutes. He's whistling happily, just waiting for the popcorn to get ready.

Once it is done, he grabs the bag, pours the content in a plastic bowl, then heads to his living room. As soon as he gets out of the kitchen, he's hit with a punch to the face, and the popcorn bowl escapes from his grasp. Popcorn flies all over the place, as Tony's attacker gets ready to punch him again.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"SARAH," shouts Tim to his sister, trying to be heard over the noise of the shower.

"WHAT?" comes the muffed answer.

"What do you want for dinner?" Tim asks leaning against the bathroom door.

"After all we ate in Norfolk, you're still hungry?" Sarah's voice is full of mirth.

He shrugs, even though she can't see him. Since he started dating Joy, she was the one responsible for the meals, as she's learnt how to cook with her mother and always cooked too much for only one person. His fridge, despite the grocery shopping she had done a couple of days ago, was full of things he had no idea how to prepare.

Therefore, takeout was in order.

"Yeah, and I won't sleep if we don't eat something," he says, as he glances at his watch. It was 11:21 pm.

"Could we order Chinese?" she says, and Timothy nods, "Chinese is ok." He goes to the kitchen and starts dialling.

Unbeknownst to them, two cars slowly drive into the alley behind McGee's apartment. The cars stop and six burly men are inside, just waiting. They start making their plans, getting ready for the action.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After dropping Ziva and Tony at their own places, a very tired Gibbs drives the Charger into his garage, stopping it in front of his truck. He sighs tiredly, as this whole week seemed to be forged in the deepest fires from hell, from a case that seemed to hit dead end after dead end to the senseless shooting that shook the foundation of the relationships of his adopted family.

He takes the key from the car, steps out of the car and locks it. He will have to wake up early the following morning to pick up his agents. He enters his home, and slowly gets his jacket off. He looks down the corridor, towards the door that leads to his basement, and decides that a little bit of sanding would relax him enough to sleep.

He walks to his basement door and turns on the feeble light of the single bulb hanging from the ceiling over the boat. He slowly goes down the steps, one hand sliding over the banister, his other was slowly creeping to his gun holster.

And, exactly as his gut had warned him, as soon as he got to the last step, one of the shadows in the basement moved.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joy finishes her shower, completely unaware of the danger she's in. She starts drying her body with one very big fluffy towel, and rolls another towel over her wet hair. She walks into her bedroom, and walks towards her commode, where her fragrant peach hand and body creams were, neatly organized.

As soon as she stands before the commode, however, she suddenly feels dizzy, and she had to support her hand on the commode top to avoid falling to the floor. She feels chills running through her body, and as she looks down she can clearly sees goose bumps appearing on her arms. She starts breathing deeply, and her breath starts to mist in the air, as if her bedroom had suddenly lost its warmth.

An ethereal light suddenly inundates the bedroom, on the other side of the bed, closer to the window, and Joy closes her eyes and gulps at the strong presence she feels in the room. She slowly turns, and her eyes hurt as she sees the celestial being, in its full glory, its feathered wings unfurled and twitching, illuminating the room with its raw power.

Its face was young and beautiful, piercing dark blue eyes that could see to the very deepest secret of a human's soul. Its blond hair moved softly, even though there was no wind or breeze in the room. In its hand, a huge sword, unsheathed and ready for battle.

She starts shaking as the scope of the visitation hits her, as it has been many years since the Commander of the Heavenly Hosts personally presented himself in full glory to her.

The angel looks at her, with battle wise eyes, and simply says, "They're here."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In his home, Ducky was sitting quietly by the fire, with the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine open over his lap. He sighs, as he reads about the latest researches on stem cells and cancer vaccine attempts.

Down the access road, a car slowly rolls until it finally stops on the gravel road. A single man gets out of it.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Ziva rushes to her attacker, and certifies that he's definitely dead. She goes through his pockets and the only ID she finds says that he's Nick Castello, from NY.

_Oh crap, New York_, she thinks as she immediately gets her mobile phone and starts ringing Gibbs to tell him what happened.

However, the telephone rings and he's not answering.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The attacker tried to use his fists to rearrange DiNozzo's face, but he was on Tony's turf, his own kitchen, so Tony attacked the man as furiously as he was attacked. Finally, after three or four lucky punches from Tony, both men fall to the floor, the attacker over Tony, trying to strangle him. Tony looks to the left and sees one of his frying pans inside his cupboard, and before his life is finally over he hits the attacker in the head, knocking him for precious seconds. It was time enough for Tony to take a breath, and tackle his attacker to the floor, and with three furious punches, he was out.

Tony leans against his fridge, sitting on the floor, trying to catch his breath. His ribs and his side aches, but he's alive. He gingerly stands up, and goes to the living room, getting his handcuffs and cuffs the knocked out bastard to his kitchen sink, grabs his gun and badge and leaves the apartment, after turning off Casablanca.

Before he hit the streets to hail a cab, he dials Gibbs' number. It rings, but no one answers.

"No, no, this is not happening," he mutters, he sees a taxi driving by, "TAXI!"


	49. Gewitter

**Gewitter**

The three men climb the wooden steps towards the first floor of the townhouse very slowly. They look up and down the corridor, and see light coming from the second door to the left. The head goon signals to his colleagues, who walk slowly towards the closed door of Joy's room. As they approach the door, they see movement through the light shining under the gap between the door and the floor. They position themselves before the door, with their guns with silencers drawn, ready to assault the room.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The shadow was actually a very muscular man, who with a growl tackled Gibbs and tried to teach him a lesson with his fists. Gibbs still tries to use his gun, but there is no space for the shot, and the man brutally hits Gibbs' hand, which becomes slack and the gun falls.

The Murdock crew that had been sent to DC had very clear orders: teach these Feds who believed they could intimidate Mike Murdoch, and who tried to corner his link in the Navy, a lesson. As apparently Kieran had bailed out, Murdoch decided to literally take matters in his own hands or, if you wish to be literal, in his crew's hands.

They were to pummel to death those he had researched, in a very clear message that nobody messes with Mike's business.

However, in the research he did on the team, Mike had assumed that his bouncers would have an easy time. After all, what could these sissy feds possibly do to his army of street toughened thugs?

He was in for the surprise of his life, as Gibbs, with a roar of fury, hits his own head on the forehead of his attacker, letting him dizzy for a few seconds, his grip on Gibbs neck slacking and giving Gibbs enough time to punch the guy twice. As they clashed, the thug grabs one of Gibbs' hand tools and tries to knock him out, but he ducks and the thug hits the boat instead, breaking a section of the structure.

Gibbs roars and punches the guy, who falls the floor. The man, however, lands close to where Gibbs gun slid to, and he stretches his hand and grabs the gun and points it to Gibbs' head, his finger on the trigger.

A shot is heard.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After a long day working in her snoop department for other FBI surveillance cases, Hope is happily talking on the phone as she walks towards her car in the parking lot of the Hoover Building. She was relating all the things that happened in the previous days to her blood sister, Grace, who works in the FBI office in Utah.

She was updating her sister on all family gossip she could think of, and Grace was laughing, really wishing she had been part of the bust operation. Hope starts to walk slowly, going through her bag trying to find the electric keys for her Honda, when suddenly she loses her balance as the heel of her left high heel breaks.

She falls to the floor, at the exact same moment a shot is heard.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

_lets not pretend like you're alone tonight  
(I know he's there and)  
you're probably hanging out and making eyes  
(while across the room he stares)  
I'll bet he gets the nerve to walk the floor  
and ask my girl to dance  
she'll say yes  
(because these words were never easier for me to say or her to second guess but i guess)  
that i can live without you but  
(without you I'll be miserable at best)_

**_Miserable at best – Mayday Parade_**

Matthew changes lanes and radio station, driving his rental towards Silver Springs. After the very tense few days they had, he and Sarah hadn't had yet the chance to sit down and talk, really talk about, well, the future. This was bothering Matt profoundly as, before the shooting, he had the impression they had something special, something great, and now they were in limbo, together but apart, with so many things unsaid and lots of hurt to forgive and forget.

Yes, they had talked about the shooting, and both had the chance to tell the other their feelings and impressions of those very tense minutes where their lives were in danger. And they also had that hot clandestine encounter, in Johnny's guest bathroom for Christ's sake, but it was more an act of desperation on his part and pity onf hers than anything else.

At least, he had had the chance of talking with Timothy and clearing the air between them. So, the precious relationship between Joy and Tim would not be jeopardized by whatever he and Sarah might decide to do in the future.

Matt frowns as he remembers his sister's words to him on the afternoon of the shooting, as Joy explained what the future might hold for his relationship with the youngest McGee.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Both siblings turn their eyes to the fire, and Matt says softly, "I told her I love her today."

Joy turns to her brother, "and do you?"

"Do you doubt me?"

"Did you say I love you in a crisis moment, in a quiet moment or right before/during/after sex?" she says smiling smartly at him, and he blushes brightly, which brings howling laughter from Joy. "Ah Matt," she says, and he hits her in the arm.

"But I was being sincere," he says sullenly, folding his arms and pouting like a baby.

"I'm not questioning your sincerity; I'm questioning your motives for saying that." He looks sullenly at her, "it is one thing to say it during hot steamy moments, but it is completely different saying it with no distractions, no pressure, nothing to take away the importance of it. Real love is not the crazy sweeping passion that takes you in a whirlwind of ups and downs, but it is a conscious choice that both of you have to make that, despite both your shortcomings and your idiosyncrasies, you are part of her and she is part of you, a silent promise you will still be there for each other no matter what happens. That's why the marriage vows say to have and to hold, for better and for worse."

She takes his left hand in hers, and studies the bandages on it, from Sarah's bites and also from him punching the tree earlier on, "you two had been granted with a second chance in life, a new beginning. You had been touched by God's hand and shown how His divine Providence is powerful to take care of the littlest details." Matthew is looking at his older sister's eyes who, despite having worked in civilian law enforcement for years, had seen more horrors than many of his Marine colleagues, "what you two will do with this new lease on life, it is up to you. You will have two choices ahead: if you will become stronger and tighter together, or if you will drift apart, the shadow of your relationship nothing more than that, a memory."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Matt frowns as he's certain that he has no wish to let his relationship with Sarah silently wither and become just a bittersweet memory. He wants…

He gulps, as the full bluntness of his wants crystallize in clear thoughts. He wants a family, children, laughter, just like his father has with his mother, starting his own little Buchanan-McGee branch.

He groans as he now knows how his father felt when he met his mother, as he had explained that, from the moment he met Maggie, there was no other, and there would never be any other. His thoughts, his breaths, his life if necessary would be dedicated to her wooing and conquering, even if that was the last thing he had to do.

_Man, I'm so whipped_, Matt thinks, smiling like crazy. He looks in the rear-view mirror and his smile fades as he sees a car speeding up with low lights towards his car. He changes lanes so the car may overtake him, but the car, as soon as it is parallel to his car, swerves and hits his car door, trying to take him out of the freeway.

Matt struggles with the wheel, and as he looks to the side, he sees that the driver has a gun pointed at him. He immediately steps on the brakes, bringing his car to a stop in the middle of the empty freeway as the other car continues speeding up. The attacking car brakes a couple yards ahead, and Matthew immediately charges his car against the stopped car trying to damage it as much as possible and to force his attackers off the road.

Both cars clash, and finally after some seconds of metal screeching, both cars hit the guardrail.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs roars and punches the guy, who falls the floor. The man, however, lands close to where Gibbs' gun slid to, and he stretches his hand and grabs the gun and points it at Gibbs' head, his finger on the trigger.

Gibbs looks to the end of the barrel of his own service weapon, and for a millisecond thinks about his agents, who will mourn his death deeply and about his beloved family, who he will finally see again.

A shot is heard, and he flinches. His attacker slides to the floor, and Gibbs sees a neat round bullet hole in his forehead. He looks up to the stairs and, exactly in the same position as the last time she saved his life in this same basement is Ziva, his Israeli guardian angel, with her drawn weapon pointed to the scum bleeding at his feet.

"Are you ok, Gibbs?" she asks, as she slowly goes down the steps towards him.

He gingerly touches his lower lip, which is bleeding, and looks down at the dead man in his basement.

He looks at her, and sees that she seems disturbed, "How did you know?"

Ziva looks at him, and says softly, studying his bruised face, "There was someone waiting for me at home too. His ID was from New York."

Gibbs frowns, as he had mistakenly believed that Kieran McGee would heed their warnings and stop. Apparently, he was wrong. Damn.

"And you also wasn't answering your phone," completes Ziva, and Gibbs touches his phone in his pocket, and looks at the ten missed calls.

"I was busy trying not to get killed," says Gibbs, smirking at her, despite the pain in his face.

"The others?"

"I couldn't reach them," says Ziva, as soon as they get to Gibbs' living room. The door opens, and both agents draw their weapons towards the person entering the house.

It's Tony.

"Boss," he freezes as he sees the drawn weapons, "oh, you too, uhm?"

Gibbs lowers his weapon, and Ziva approaches Tony, looking at his hurt face, "You were attacked too, weren't you?"

"Yeah," he flinches as Ziva touches one of the purple bruises in his face, "I think they were already in the apartment when I got in, I left him cuffed to my kitchen sink and unconscious.

Gibbs frowns, and leaves the living room, with Ziva and Tony hot on his heels. He sees that there is a taxi stopped out front, and looks at Tony, who shrugs.

"I thought you were hurt, didn't want to wait while calling another cab," he justifies himself.

Gibbs turns to Ziva, and throws her the keys of the Charger, "Ziva, go to Ducky, check that he's fine." He turns to Tony, and points to the taxi, "Tony, check Abby, I'm going to McGee's place."

Ziva runs to the Charger, and starts to get ready to leave. Tony looks at his Boss, "what about the others?"

"Keep trying to contact them, I have to get to McGee's!" he climbs in his truck, and starts it, driving off in a hurry just after Ziva's Charger. Tony hops into the Taxi, and gives the driver Abby's address.

Gibbs steps on the accelerator, silently praying, for the first time in many years, and asking to God to let him get there in time.


	50. Xena the Warrior Princess

**Xena the Warrior Princess**

"AGENT UNDER FIRE, REQUEST REINFORCEMENTS!" shouts Hope on her phone, from behind a car full of bullet holes.

As soon as the first shot sounded, she rolled herself behind a parked Ford Focus, and for the last five minutes she was in a shootout with one or several shooters. Between shots, she would throw a glance at her one hundred dollar shoes, and its broken heel, which literally had saved her life.

More shots are heard, and she shoots back.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Sir, you have a concussion, you have to go to a hospital," insists the paramedic to Matt, who has a gash in his forehead and a broken wrist, and who is insisting to leave without boarding the ambulance.

"No, you don't understand!" he is getting mad at the paramedic, who is wasting his precious time, time he doesn't have. "THIS WAS A PLANNED ATTACK, THEY ARE GOING AFTER MY GIRLFRIEND, AND HER BROTHER, AND I HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!" he shouts at the paramedic, who insists he boards the ambulance.

A police officer who had responded to the accident approaches them, "is there a problem here?"

"He's refusing to board the bus, he's saying that this was planned," says the paramedic, thinking that this guy is just hysterical.

Matt, however, is getting desperate. Sarah is in danger, he has to leave, and leave NOW!

The police officer tries to calm down the crazy driver who caused the accident, "Sir, I know you are traumatized, but if you go to the hospital, they will check you out," says the officer, _and probably put you in a straight jacket_, he thinks.

"Listen officer," says Matt, and he runs his good hand through his hair, exasperated, "my sister is a federal agent, NCIS, and my girlfriend's brother too. They were on a case, and this is a result of their investigation, you have to let me go, now! They are in danger!"

The officer looks at him and considers his options for a moment, then he turns to the paramedic.

"What is his situation?"

"Except some scratches made by glass, a broken wrist we had already patched up and a concussion, he's fine. The other driver, however, is in critical condition," says the paramedic.

The officer looks at him, and sees his nervousness.

"Please, they are going to try to kill them too," Matt pleads, desperate.

The metro officer frowns, and nods, "ok, but you are not going alone, kid."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

One of the men reaches his hand out to the doorknob of Joy's room, and starts to turn it. He makes a whole turn without a noise, and the other two tense up ready for action.

Suddenly, shots are fired from inside the bedroom, through the door, hitting the man touching the door knob in the thigh. He flies back hitting the wall of the corridor, sliding towards the floor. The other two immediately start returning fire, but the shots keep coming and are dead on target, hitting another one in the chest and the other in the groin area.

The door is abruptly opened, and Joy stays out of sight, as the man with the shot thigh is still returning fire. The one shot in the chest was killed immediately; the other shot in the groin was trying to stop the bleeding, his gun forgotten on the floor.

The one with the shot thigh tries to escape, dragging his bum leg behind him and bleeding on the corridor towards the stairs. Joy though leaves her hiding place and hits him, again, this time in the back of his head. He falls dead on the sisal carpet her mother gave her for her twenty-fifth birthday.

She glances briefly into the corridor, checking the carnage left behind, and finally leaves the room.

The hit man holding his groin lifts his eyes and he's surprised to see their target, whose mug shots did not do justice to her real beauty: a woman, with her long wet brown hair plastered against her body. She's standing there before him, naked, with a gun in her hand and pointed to his head, as her towel fell to the floor during the gunfight.

He still tries to get his gun in his blooded hands, but she approaches him and touches his forehead with her gun.

"Do it," she hisses, "just do it." She's breathing deeply, and her beautiful breasts were hypnotizing for the dying man. His eyes glide over the smooth skin, still moist from the shower, and he sees that this furious Amazon Warrior had faced several wars. There are cigarette burns on the skin of her generous hips, and there is a knife scar on her belly, as well as two very distinct bullet holes in her upper chest, one in her shoulder and the other, over her left breast, very close to her heart.

She lowers on her knees, her gun still pointed to his head, grabs his gun away from his reach, and hisses furiously, "Who sent you here?"

He gulps, still staring at her breasts, "I won't tell," Joy leans towards him, and presses the muzzle of his own gun on his wound, bringing a moan out of him.

"You will bleed to death in minutes, and if you will have a peaceful meeting with your maker or not depends on your answer to my question, so," she presses her gun deeper, and he groans, "_who sent you here_?"

"Mike…" he mutters finally, afraid of this Fury in flesh and blood and… is that smell peaches?

"Mike Murdock?" she asks again, just to clarify his answer.

"Yes," he moans, in pain, "he said it was a payback for your attack against his commander," he hisses, and Joy steps back, her gun still pointed to his head, but not pressing in his wound any more, and she starts to think furiously.

"Mike sent you here under Kieran McGee's orders," she says, just to be certain she got it right.

"Yes," he says.

She glances at him for a full minute and leaves him alone in the corridor, bleeding. She hastily throws some clothes on, gets the first pair of shoes she can find, grabs her mobile and keys, and leaves her bedroom.

The hit killer is trying to stop his bleeding, in vain. Joy stops before him, and throws a towel to him. He glances at the furious woman looking down at him.

"Good luck stopping the bleeding," she says, and steps over the two dead bodies in the corridor, and rushes to her car.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Ducky finally got tired of the clinical and dry words of the Medicine journal, and now was happily reading an illustrated book of Scotland, and he smiles as he glides his hand over the beautiful picture of his beloved land, completely unaware of the danger he is in.

The intruder silently breaks into the house by the kitchen door, and slowly makes his way, towards the living room where Ducky is sitting in a loveseat by the fireplace.

"Oh how sometimes I miss it, my bonnie Scotland. The Lochs, the music, the people! The vibrant colors of the tartans during the Highland games," he says out loud, and turns the page, to look at the picture of another castle, built in another time, another place.

He sighs, and the intruder creeps behind him, and slowly lifts his gun with a silencer towards Ducky's head. His fingers tense on the trigger.

A shot is heard.


	51. Warnings

**Warnings**

"FAITH!" Joy screams into the phone, while she drives like Gibbs in DC's streets. "HE'S ATTACKING US!"

"I know, Hope was attacked on her way out of the building tonight. Imagine their guts, shooting a federal agent in the parking lot of the Hoover! They must be desperate!"

"The kids!"

"My kids are fine, Wilson took them out of the city until this nightmare is over. Have you spoken to Gibbs?"

"Not yet, I'm on my way to McGee's place, find Matthew, he left earlier," she says as she cuts off a slower car, and presses the gas pedal deeper. She can hear Faith shouting orders in the background, and Faith starts doing a head count in her head. She speaks again in the phone.

"Joy, have you heard from Temp?"

"No, why?"

"I can't reach her!"

"Find her, check with Jimmy Palmer, he's an M.E. assistant at NCIS and send reinforcements to McGee's place!" She disconnects, and Joy throws her phone to the passenger seat.

"Oh God, please," she changes lanes, overtaking two slower cars, and feels the tremors of terror she is trying to suppress, "please God, don't let them get hurt," she prays.

"We're doing our best, Joy" says a gentle voice.

She looks to the passenger seat, and sees the being from her visions sitting by her side.

"Please, warn them," she begs him, with tears in her voice.

He nods and disappears. She looks at the road ahead and speeds up towards Silver Springs.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

On the other side of the city, two young lovers were lazily in bed, after a hot lovemaking session. Jimmy was smiling at the ceiling, as his hand slides softly over Temp's naked back.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Temp murmurs against his chest, and leaves a kiss on his chest, over his heart.

"Thanks for accepting the invitation," Jimmy says, and Temp lifts her head to look at him and grins.

They kiss softly, and they lay down to sleep.

Meanwhile, a car stops downstairs, and a man leaves it running, and starts to climb the fire stairs towards the apartment on the second floor.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Oh dear, what is the meaning of this?" says Ducky, standing frightened and looking at Ziva, whose gun was smoking and pointing to something behind him.

She had a crazy eyed look, and she was visibly shaking, "Are you ok, Ducky?" she says in a trembling voice.

She lowers her gun a little and slowly approaches the hit man who was standing behind Ducky. He was definitely dead. Her aim had been true, the shot hit him in the forehead.

"Yes indeed, I am fine." Ducky looks at the stranger bleeding on his living room floor, "but this gentleman is not. What is the meaning of this?"

"We're under attack, Ducky, come on, we're leaving." She grabs his arm, and drags him out of the room.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

And, at the same time, three different cars, coming from different directions, speed through the empty streets of the early morning towards Silver Springs.

They were all praying for the best, but, unfortunately, expecting the worst.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Abby, where are you?" Tony shouts at the phone, but he can't hear Abby over the background noise.

"TONY, WHAT…%¨&¨&$ … tact%$¨& …. From?

"Abby, you are in danger, where are you? I'm on my way to your apartment." He incites the taxi driver to speed up, as he's still some blocks away.

"Tony, what … ruruuriwowo … can't … ***** hear !" shouts Abby back.

"WE ARE UNDER ATTACK, WHERE ARE YOU?"

The taxi turns the corner to Abby's apartment, and the driver brakes violently as the floor where her apartment is suddenly blows up, throwing glass, brick and wood flying far and away.

"ABBYYYYYYYYYY!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Did you order the food yet?" asks Sarah, drying her hair as she leaves the bedroom, dressed in one of his MIT t-shirts and some soft gym slacks.

"Yes, I did, it must be here in a minute," says McGee, not looking up from his computer, where he had logged in for an online gaming session.

There is a knock on the door. Tim looks at Sarah and smiles.

"They must have read my mind," he goes to the door and checks who is outside, and indeed there it is, a man with the food bag and a hat from the delivery place covering his face.

He opens the door.

"You arrived just in time."

"I bet we did," the delivery man lifts his face and points a gun towards McGee.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Temperance suddenly opens her eyes, as she feels goose bumps covering her body, even though there is no breeze in the room.

"What's wrong?" ask Jimmy, his voice laden with sleep.

"Shush," she whispers, she closes her eyes and listens.


	52. Hailing skies

Hailing skies

The man with the gun pushes McGee back inside of the apartment, while McGee takes a step so he's in front of his sister, protecting her. He's unarmed. He had locked his gun in his safe as he had entered the small apartment. Another five men come from their hiding place, the emergency stairs. They enter the apartment shutting the door behind them.

"So you're the little prick the commander told us about," the head thug smiles maliciously, measuring Tim up and down.

"Hey, Mike never said that the package would be such a juicy peach," another one, bald with a scraggly beard, and a long thin face, leers at Sarah. He has a long thin scar running down his face, from his forehead to his cheek.

They all laugh but Sarah starts to shake.

Something growls at the thugs, and they are surprised when Jethro the dog charges against the man with the gun, who cries out in pain as the dog attack. In the confusion, McGee pushes Sarah to his bedroom, trying to take her to safety, but his action is stopped by two thugs, who tackle him and throw him to the floor. Jethro senses his master's difficulties, and lets go of his victim and charges against McGee's attacker. The man kicks at Jethro with the heel of his boot. The dog whines in pain, and the head thug shoots him.

"Jethro!" McGee shouts, fighting against the men holding him down to the floor. McGee stares at his dog. He doesn't move from where he landed with final yelp.

Sarah's escape to the bedroom was thwarted by one man, who grabbed her by her waist and, despite her struggles against him, doesn't let go. She scratches and screams at him, but his grip is firm.

"Let me go, you bastard!" she slaps him, but he shakes her like a rag doll, ignoring her attempts to be set free.

"Let her go!" McGee shouts looking at the man holding his sister. "What do you want from us?"

"From you, nothing," the head thug says, his deep baritone voice sending shivers down McGee's spine. His black eyes stare at McGee, struggling at the floor, his black goatee making a strong contrast against his pale skin, "we just got orders to take the peach home to the commander, and that's what we'll do," he smiles cruelly, "whether she likes it or not."

Timothy frowns as he hears that, and he deepens his resolve to keep Sarah safe. "Over my dead body," he hisses.

The thugs laugh, "That's not a problem for us."

McGee struggles against the two men who are pining him down to the floor, as he sees Sarah being manhandled by two men, each holding one of her arms to avoid her nails and to better control her. He fights them with his legs, hitting the computer table in the struggle, and the monitor falls to the floor with a clash of glass and metal. The two thugs stand up and bring McGee to his feet.

"Noooo! Let me go! Tim!"

"Sarah! Let her go, don't." Tim struggles against his captors. One of them punches him in the face. Pain shoots through his nose as blood starts gushing and his eyes water.

One of the thugs holding Sarah laughs, perversely. "This one has spirit! It'll be nice to break it."

The other one holding Sarah smiles back. "Hey, Mike never said we couldn't taste the goods."

The two thugs smirk at each other, and start dragging a kicking and screaming Sarah to McGee's bedroom.

"Sarah!" He fights even more desperately against the two men holding him down. The head thug approaches him and punches him in the stomach knocking the wind out of him. He falls on his knees, gasping for breath.

The head thug smiles down at the fallen man. He leans over to him, catches a hand full of McGee's hair and painfully pulls his head up, bringing tears to the fed's eyes.

"We were told to teach you a lesson, so you better pay attention." He grins savagely.

He punches him in the face again, and this time Timothy falls to the floor, moaning.

In the bedroom, Sarah starts screaming louder than before.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The police car taking Matthew to the McGees' address is speeding towards Silver Springs zigzagging between the slower cars on the avenue. The metro officer glances at the young man from the car crash, and he's barely containing his nervous energy.

"Can't you go faster?" Matt asks in a quivering voice, holding his broken wrist carefully over his lap. His legs move in a nervous twitch, eager to get into action.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Officer Stuart answers.

"They might be dead by now." He closes his eyes, and feels a shudder run up and down his spine at the images his mind comes up with. The pain he feels on his wrist doesn't even get close to what he knows he will feel if he gets there too late for Sarah.

Officer Stuart glances at the young man and steps on the gas pedal harder. Only five minutes later, he brakes in front of the McGees' apartment. Before the car even stops, Matthew jumps out and runs towards the entrance of the building. He shouts to the officer, pointing to a sedan dangerously parked over the curb, "That's my sister's car."

As soon as they get to the door of the building, they hear several shots upstairs. The metro officer draws his weapon and rushes into the building, with Matthew hot on his heels.


	53. Endless torment

**_Endless Torment_**

The head thug orders his two colleagues to grab each of McGee's arms and lift him up, there's no fun in kicking a lying dog. He punches McGee' stomach over and over, leaving him dizzy and breathless. The thug looks at the pretty face before him, bleeding profusely, and smiles evilly. He orders his men to turn him and hold him down on the floor.

He grabs the waist band of Tim's sweatpants and drags it down, exposing his buttocks. "Your father said that he always thought you were a queer, so, why not verify it?" The three men laugh. The head thug starts undoing his belt.

McGee moans, still dizzy, but a scream from Sarah wakes him enough to scream again.

"SARAH!" He hears her sobbing, and struggles in vain against the hands holding him down.

Muffed sounds are heard inside the bedroom, and something heavy falls to the floor. Sarah starts screaming hysterically, even more than before. McGee intensifies his struggles against the strong men holding him to the floor.

He closes his eyes, and feels disgust and shame as he feels the pervert touching him, his finger probing inside him, where he has no right to poke at all, in preparation for an even viler invasion.

He feels tears simmering in his eyes. He shouts, struggling against his tormentors, as he feels something touching him there. He starts shaking, and tears of humiliation burn down his face. He can't move and there's something pushing inside him. Someone is shouting, but he barely recognizes his own voice screaming in terror.

The bastard laughs and slaps his buttocks, ordering his colleagues to hold him firm so he won't struggle against the invasion and McGee tenses for the intense pain he knows will come.

Something happens, as the man suddenly collapses, and McGee feels a warm liquid shower on his back. The two men look scared at something behind McGee, yelp of pain and then suddenly silence. They're killed instantly by shots into their foreheads.

He is shaking and screaming, as the man collapses on top of him, pressing him to the floor. He squirms against the dead weight of his torturer. Suddenly it's removed, leaving him vulnerable with his pants down.

"Ah Tim," says a soft voice, and whoever it is raises his pants to its rightful place, giving him the minimum of dignity and starts checking the vitals of the other two thugs.

He still hasn't opened his eyes and he's still shaking. He can hear Sarah's faint cries in the background. Soft hands touch his back and he flinches.

The hands ignore it and grab him by his shoulders, lifting him from the floor, and turning him, so he can be hugged by soft delicate woman's arms.

Still with his eyes closed, he buries his head in the neck of the person hugging him, and he inhales the familiar scent of peaches.

"It's over, Tim," Joy says between tears, "it's over."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Matt and the metro officer arrive to a scene that reminds them of a slaughter house. There are three dead people on the floor, and right in the middle of it is a shaking light haired man clinging a shell shocked petite brunette. There are two automatic guns by her side, one with a silencer on the floor and the other still in her hand. Several used shells are on the floor around the only two living people inside of the room.

Matt looks around and advances into the house, while the officer starts to call for backup. As soon as the officer sees him entering the house, he tries to stop Matt, who isn't even paying attention to him anymore.

"You can't go in there, this is a crime scene," says the officer, but Matt's eyes are fixed on his sister and Timothy, both crying and hugging each other amidst bleeding corpses.

"Joy?" he softly calls out, but her face is buried in Tim's neck as they both cry. There is no way she will hear him, not in the emotional state she's in. He approaches her slowly, and he's horrified to see the state her clothes are in. The blood of the three thugs pooled on the floor, and her jeans were slowly absorbing the red liquid she was kneeling in. He's afraid to touch her, as one of her hands still holding one of the guns, and she might simply shoot him before realizing who she's pointing it to.

McGee's not fairing any better, as his bruised face is becoming a small collection of purple and black bruises, and his nose seems to have been broken some time during the evening. Somehow he senses Matt approach, and lifts his head from Joy's shoulder, trying to identify who is in the living room with them.

"Matt?" his voice comes out muffed, as the blood from his broken nose is still running down his face. He lifts his hand and points to the bedroom, "Sarah –"

As soon as McGee points to his bedroom, Matt hears someone and runs towards it, to a sight that will haunt his memory and dreams forever.

Sarah is in McGee's bed, naked and covered in blood, and there were three men in the bed with her. Two were fully dressed, and they seemed to have been holding her down as their hands, even in death, were still gripping her arms. The third man was on his knees before the bed, and he had lowered his pants and had been full mast when his head had been blown to the kingdom come.

While the kneeling man's brain was slowly sipping to the bedroom's floor, the two others were almost pristine, save for the tiny bullet holes through the middle of their foreheads.

Sarah is crying, shaking, and staring at the man lacking a huge part of his brain. Matt rushes to her side and silently checks if any blood on her skin is hers, but for some kind of miracle, she appears to be unharmed. Hysterical, but unharmed.

"She shot them, she came by the bathroom door and shot them," Sarah says between sobs, staring at the man bleeding at the floor. Matt takes her face between his hands, and forces her to look at him.

"Sarah, baby, did they hurt you?" He gulps, imagining the nightmares that will plague her and him for many days yet.

"She shot them, point blank, she did," Her voice quivered, as she stared at the results of Joy's wrath.

"SARAH!" shouts Matt, trying to bring her out of her shock.

She jumps, and finally her gaze lands on him, "Matt?"

"Did they hurt you?" He repeats, looking her in the eyes, seeing her shock and terror, but no pain.

"No," says Sarah, after glancing at Matt's face for a full minute, without answering, "she stopped them before they started." She looks down at the man bleeding on the floor, and starts shaking, again, and Matt hugs her naked body against his chest, and takes her out of the bed to the bathroom, away from the corpses in the bedroom and the living room, ignoring his own tears running down his face.


	54. The aftermath

_**The aftermath**_

Gibbs arrives at McGee's place exactly at the same time two SUVs screech to a halt as well. He sees Faith along with four other FBI agents leaving one SUV while Hope leaves the other with her own four agents. Faith orders the agents to take over the scene, and rushes to meet him.

There are already three metro police cars parked in front of McGee's building, their red and blue lights flashing in the night, and apparently more cars were on their way.

They show their IDs to the first Metro officer they find, and they are immediately taken to the first person on the scene. He introduces himself as Officer Stuart, the police officer that brought Matt to the scene.

"Where's my agent?" asks Gibbs, glaring at the metro officer, who looks at the gray haired man with knowing eyes.

"You guys from NCIS?"

Gibbs shows his ID, again, while Faith and Hope show their FBI credentials.

"What the hell happened here? And where is my agent?"

Officer Stuart sighs, and looks at the three worried faces before him, and waves his hand. "Follow me, I'll explain as I take you to them."

"I got a call about a car crash on the freeway, when I got there I found this crazy kid insisting that the other driver had tried to kill him, and that his girlfriend's brother was in danger." He glances at Gibbs, "initially I thought he was nuts, but some voice in my head told me to believe him, so I drove him here." He stops and looks at Gibbs in the eyes, "I won't lie to you, Agent Gibbs, I've seen a lot of things in my twenty years in the force, but this takes the cake."

He points to two ambulances further ahead, and Gibbs can see Sarah sitting inside of one of the buses, with a blanket around her. Matt sat beside her, with his arms around her shoulders. McGee, however, was outside the ambulance talking with Joy, who was standing beside the paramedic trying in vain to patch McGee's bleeding nose.

"We're taking over the investigation. Do you have a problem with that?" Faith looks at her sister arguing with McGee and frowns.

The metro officer looks at Gibbs, and at the FBI agents with him. He shrugs, "it's all yours, it's your people, your case. I don't think my bosses would want to fight for this one anyway."

Gibbs, Faith and Hope get closer to Tim and Joy. Now they can clearly hear them speaking. Apparently, McGee was refusing to board the ambulance and have himself checked out at the hospital.

"This isn't over, he's still out there." He argues, his anger making him shake with the aftershocks of the trauma he just endured. His voice sounds funny as he holds a cloth against his nose.

"Tim you're hurt, you have—"

"He tried to kill us! He sent those … bastards to kill us! They tried to rape Sarah!" he shouts.

"And he will pay for it," Joy is visibly shaking with fury. She takes deep breaths to control her emotions, as she feels tears starting to run down her face again. "But you're hurt. Please." She begs, her voice quivering, "Sarah is scared, she needs her big brother."

McGee stands there, shaking in pain and in fury, at the horrible crimes his own father ordered and plotted. He looks at Sarah, who only stares ahead with glazed eyes, unaware of her surroundings. He breathes deeply, his nose in agony with each intake of air, and takes stock of every bruise and sore in his body.

He glances at Gibbs, and takes his hand away from his face. Gibbs and the other two Buchanan sisters can see the damage caused by several punches. One of his eyes is swollen shut, his nose is crooked and purple, and it looks broken, and several other bruises could be seen, not only on his face but on his arms as well, probably from defending himself.

"Please," Joy begs again, "go to the hospital with Sarah, we'll take care of it from here."

He stares at Gibbs, and his voice is pained when he calls out, "Boss."

"She's right Tim, Sarah needs you." Gibbs tries to transmit calm resolution, not the burning fury he was feeling.

McGee thinks for a moment before he nods. With a glance towards Joy, he walks up to the ambulance, where a paramedic helps him hop up. He sits on the other side of Sarah, who immediately latches onto her brother as tears fill her eyes once again. The paramedic closes the door, and taps the side of the ambulance, leaving Gibbs and the Buchanans staring at the bus as it drives away.

Gibbs turns to his profiler, and studies her. Joy's clothes are rumpled, she's clearly not wearing a bra under her Gap sweater. Her tennis shoes are mismatched, as if she just threw on the first ones she found. She's visibly shaken, and there is blood, lots of blood, encrusted on her jeans and her sweater. "What happened here, Joy?" he asks softly, trying to gauge the mental balance of his agent.

Joy turns to him, breathing deeply, and he sees how furious she is, her blood encrusted hands open and close slowly, as she struggles to hold down her temper.

"War," she growls. She looks at her sisters. "Have you heard from Temp?"

Hope shakes her head, and Gibbs sees Joy closing her eyes as if in pain.

"I've sent Tony to collect Abby, and Ziva to check on Ducky," Gibbs says, "I haven't heard from them yet."

"GIBBS!" A familiar voice calls. They turn towards the cop's barricade, and a pale figure in goth's finest waves at them.

One metro officer lets her under the tape, and she runs on her platform boots towards the agents. As soon she's in hearing distance, he asks her, "Where's Tony?"

She shrugs, "He called me, I was with the nuns bowling, the connection was really bad. What happened?" She looks around curious.

"BOSS!" shouts Tony, trying to go through the barricade. Faith waves him in, and he rushes out of breath towards the growing circle of agents. "Boss, I'm sorry, I was at…" he freezes when he sees Abby standing besides Gibbs, his eyes becoming round with his surprise.

He's surprised to see his agent run towards Abby and pull her into a tight hug "I thought you were dead." His voice is barely above a whisper so he doesn't cry. He takes a step back to get a better look at her, tears threatening to fall down his face.

"What are you talking about, Tony?"

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs stares at his agent, demanding an explanation. Tony wipes his tears, and tries to regain his composed self. "Boss, when I arrived at Abby's place, her whole floor blew up," he turns to Abby, who is staring at him with huge eyes and a surprised face, "Sorry Abs."

They hear a familiar voice, shouting at the stupid officer who is denying her access. Officer Stuart simply approaches his colleague, asks if the woman is NCIS, and at her loud, colorful affirmative answer, waves Ziva in.

The agents breathe a sigh of relief when they see her dragging a very distraught, but alive, Dr. Mallard.

"Is McGee ok? Did you arrive on time, Gibbs?" she asks, looking at the Buchanans and her own boss.

"Whatever happened," he looks at Joy, "was over long before we got here."

Ziva and Tony look at Joy, and see the state of her clothes and the blood dried on it. Then they glance at Gibbs, silently asking for an explanation.

Gibbs approaches Joy and puts a hand on one of her shoulders. She jumps.

"Hey, it's just me, Gibbs," he says soothingly.

She looks at him with sad and tortured eyes, and he asks himself how much longer these two can go on before reaching a breaking point. "Tell me what happened here."

Joy closes her eyes and Gibbs can see how she struggles to arrange her thoughts in order to answer his simple question.

When she opens her eyes, she stares at his chest, not his eyes, as she reports, "They…" she breathes deeply, and Gibbs can feel her shudder under his hand, "there were six perps, sir," Gibbs can see her eyes glazing over, as she remembers, "three in the bedroom with…" her voice falters, "with… they were attacking Sarah, and the three others with McGee in the living room."

Ziva and Tony approach their teammate, and listen in horror at what happened tonight. Ducky glances at Gibbs, and approaches the broken agent, ready to support her if her strength fails.

"What were they doing with Sarah, Joy?" Ducky asks softly.

She visibly shakes as she says monotonously, "She was naked on McGee's bed, two men were holding her down while the third was taking his clothes off to rape her."

The other two Buchanans gasp before they could stop themselves. Gibbs glares at them, even though he understands. Seeing Sarah like that no doubt brought back memories for Joy from her captivity. The helplessness she felt at Garnett's hands. He couldn't imagine what went through Joy's mind when she walked in McGee's bedroom.

"What did you do, Joy?" Faith approaches her sister, worry consuming her voice.

Joy's hands turn into tight fists as she hisses, "I shot the bastards down." She looks at Gibbs, daring him to reprimand her, "I simply walked behind his back and shot him down, and shot the two holding her down." Gibbs stares at Joy, feeling her shaking under the hand on her shoulder. The events of this night will have consequences, and Gibbs worries about how his profiler will deal with the aftermath of this storm.

"Where was McGee while that was happening?" Tony asks, Gibbs and the Buchanan sisters glare at him, he holds up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, just asking. Where is he?"

Joy starts crying. The blood drains from Tony's face. "Oh, my God, is he…?"

"No, he's not dead," answers Gibbs. Abby, Tony and Ziva visibly relax, marginally. "He went with Sarah and Matthew to the hospital, he's pretty banged up, they did a number on him."

Joy wipes her tears, and turns to her sisters, "Have you heard from Temp?" Her tremors are slowly intensifying, her mind working in circles as the reality of the events of tonight are slowly settling in her mind. Gibbs can see she´s not very coherent right now, and her mind keeps jumping back to those they had no news of yet.

Faith looks at her mobile phone, and shakes her head. Joy sobs, and Gibbs sees the burden of responsibility weighing heavily on her shoulders. They had imagined that, once cornered, Kieran McGee would heed their warnings and the threats and leave his kids alone. However, Kieran ordered his children and coworkers killed and, even though many of his attacks had been frustrated, there is the very real possibility that two of their own were lost in the battle tonight. Because, if they got Temp, you could be sure they had Jimmy as well.

"Has any one tried to contact Mr. Palmer yet?" Ducky looks around, and sees Tony hurriedly dialing on his phone.

After a few moments He shakes his head. "Straight to voice mail."

"FBI, let me through!" Someone shouts. The agents turn just in time to see Temp bulldozing her way towards her sisters, dragging a rumpled Jimmy after her.

"Temp!"

"Jimmy!"

"Mr. Palmer!" Ducky shouts, as he sees the state his assistant is in. A jacket was hastily thrown over his naked chest, no shirt underneath. His trousers are barely buttoned up. His glasses are askew.

"Dr. Mallard, thank God you're all fine," he glances at Temp, "for a moment there I thought we were doomed."

"What happened to you, guys?" Hope rushes and crushes her little sister in a hug.

"Well," Jimmy pushes his glasses higher on his face, he gulps before continuing, "ah… we were…" He blushes, Temp turns to him and smiles. "We…"

"We were sleeping in Jimmy's bed when someone broke into the apartment," Temp says nonchalantly, while Jimmy blushes seven grades of red.

Gibbs turns to the youngest Buchanan. "What happened then?"

Temp looks at Hope, who took a step back to look at her sister's face, and says in a quivering voice, "Thanks to Hope's advice, I had my Sig in hand, so I took him down as soon as he stepped into the bedroom."

Joy looks at her little sister. "I was under the impression that you didn't have a gun."

Temp simply shrugs. "I have a gun, I just don't normally carry it."

Gibbs looks around at the movement of the metro cops and FBI agents, in and out of the building, and sees M.E. vans arriving. He looks down at Joy, frozen like a statue, eyes closed, only her chest going up and down betrayed that she was alive.

She opens her eyes and stares at him. He sees that, instead of pain and shock he had seen before, there was now just fury. The indomitable fury the Buchanans were well known for. She looks at her colleagues from NCIS and at her sisters.

"BUCHANANS" she shouts, and they quiet down and look at her.

"Tonight, we faced death," she looks at Gibbs, Ziva and Tony, "and yet, we survived. Now we have to finish what Kieran has started, and show him that he will be punished to the fullest extent of the law!"

The sisters, once given the order, smile wolfishly. Hope immediately picks up her phone and starts dialing her contacts.

"Joy," Gibbs says with a warning on his voice.

Joy turns to him, her eyes blazing with fury. "They hurt Timothy, sir," she says, her voice breaking, "either you come with me or not, but you won't stop me."

"I can't let you go off half cocked, you are too close to this, so I'm pulling you off the case."

"You can't do that," says Joy.

"What about your career? Do you really think McGee would want you to sacrifice your career for him, throwing away all our efforts to keep you as a federal agent down the drain?"

Joy glares at Gibbs. "What career, Boss?" She approaches him, and says just for his ears, "I've killed three men in my own home tonight, plus the six I found here in McGee's apartment. Do you really think that I still have a career to save? Just let me do this, let me finish tonight, then I'll step back and take whatever punishment you come up with, but let me do this."

Joy and Gibbs stare at each other for a long time, until he silently nods at her.

Joy turns to Hope. "Where is he?"

Hope is still talking to another of her contacts. Joy growls, asking again, "Where is he?"

Hope lifts her hand, asking for one more second, until she closes her phone. "He's at a Navy reception being held at the Reinassance Mayflower hotel, on Connecticut Ave."

"Who's he?" asks Abby.

Hope turns to her. "Kieran McGee."

"But we put him on an airplane out of the city yesterday," says Ziva bewildered.

"But he flew back to DC because he had to attend this reception," says Hope, reporting what her snoop team had been able to find so far, "he's been there the whole night since nine pm."

"Come on." Joy starts marching towards their parked cars.

"What will you do? You can't prove the attacks were orchestrated by him," says Dr. Mallard, always the voice of reason.

Joy stops and glares at the M.E. for a full minute, thinking. Then she glances at Hope. "Do you still have the electronic surveillance in our places?" Hope nods, and Joy smiles. "Pull it up, all evidence we need is in there."

Faith rushes into the building and talks to her agents, ordering them to stay at the scene and report anything out of the ordinary for her, while making several phone calls. Each woman opens one of the SUV's they came in, and invite the NCIS agents to join them.

"Gibbs," Joy calls him out, "come on, we're taking the Porsche."

* * *

a/n: I truly apologize for the delay for these updates, but I hope you think these were worthwhile.


	55. Body Count

_**Body Count**_

Meanwhile, in the Renaissance Mayflower hotel ballroom, the annual ball for the Joint Armed Forces was in full bloom. Director Vance was in attendance under orders of SecNav, who also would be attending and wanted to share his misery with someone else.

He glances around, as he clearly feels the eyes of someone burning on his back. For some reason he can't fathom the source of his restlessness.

"Something wrong, Leon?" Jacquie Vance noticed her husband's unrest, and she knew he had been under a lot of stress this week, with the aftermath of the shootings and the TV repercussion for NCIS.

He smiles faintly to his wife. "Nothing to worry about." He takes her hand and squeezes, but despite his reassurances, he doesn't let go of her hand for the rest of the night.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Two SUVs and a Porsche speed down the freeway, towards Connecticut Ave. As the SUVs were equipped with red and blue lights, no police car dared try to interfere with them.

In the first car, Faith drives while Ziva rides shotgun, with Tony in the backseat. Gibbs is in McGee's Porsche with Joy while, in the other car, Temp drives the second SUV while Hope is franticly typing on her laptop, as her snoop team went through the last hours of data recorded on her electronic surveillance.

Ducky and Palmer decided to check on the McGee siblings and drove to the hospital where Sarah and Timothy were taken, they would report their condition to Team Gibbs as soon as they had any news.

The three sisters driving started a conference call on speakerphone, to discuss their next move.

"Faith," Joy calls out "contact Uncle Jack and tell him about what happened tonight, he'll want to know what happened."

"Hey Joy," Hope calls back, as she reviews the videos from the surveillance, "you look good naked."

Joy glances at Gibbs, who smirks at her. "Your sister, not mine."

"Did you find what we need?"

Hope gives a girly shout, and, "Yep, enough evidence to make him burn."

"If you need one of them alive," offers Tony, "I left one cuffed to my kitchen sink."

"Faith."

"Yes, Gibbs."

"Send someone from your team to collect the dirtbag, we might need his testimony."

"Consider it done."

"We'll need a warrant to arrest the commander," says Temp. "Any judge mom might know on the guest list tonight?" She looks at Hope, who starts pulling the guest list off her laptop.

She grins. "Three judges are mom's bridge buddies, and Judge Northon is in attendance."

"Temp," calls Joy.

"Yep."

"You cover that."

"Ok."

The three sisters disconnect. They take an exit that leads them to the hotel. Gibbs looks at his agent. Her hands are holding the wheel so tight that he can see the tendons under her skin.

"Buchanan." Gibbs stares at his profiler, but she keeps staring ahead, lost in her own mind.

"BUCHANAN!" He yells louder. She glances at him. "What's the plan?"

"Plan? There's no plan. We arrive there, we find him and arrest him, that's the plan." She smiles a little. "Brilliant in its simplicity."

Gibbs stares straight ahead, watching the SUV driving before him. "You can't simply walk into a Navy party and arrest a Commander, you have to have a plan."

She glances at him, but keeps quiet. Gibbs tries to gather more information. "What did you see?" She glances at him again for a moment before she turns her eyes back to the road, but Gibbs can clearly see she had become wired than before. "What were they doing to McGee?"

Joy stays silent, following the flashing red and blue lights of the SUV ahead. Gibbs was starting to open his mouth to ask again, when he heard her saying something, but he couldn't discern the words.

"What?"

Joy stares ahead, and repeats, "They were hurting him, Boss."

"How?"

Joy gulps, and blinks repeatedly trying to dispel the images forever burnt on her mind. "Two were holding him down on the floor, and he was crying and screaming Sarah's name, and the other had …" Joy feels a shiver running down her body, she struggles to keep talking, but the memories are making her feel physically sick, bile starts to burn her throat. After a second she tries again, "he had…" she glances at Gibbs, then back at the road, "he had lowered his own pants and Tim's and was preparing himself to… to…" she can't continue, and she starts shaking again. She struggles to transform her disgust into fury, she will need plenty of fury to finish this night.

Gibbs had closed his eyes as soon as she started explaining. "I will beat him to a bloody pulp this time," he growls.

Joy smiles thinly at Gibbs. "You would beat him, I might kill him." Gibbs looks at her, and he hears the seriousness in her voice. "That's why I need you there, to ensure I won't touch him."

Gibbs stares at his agent, not saying anything.

"Boss," she says softly, "I've killed eight men tonight, and left the ninth bleeding to death in my house." She glances at him. "And given the chance, I won't hesitate to reach ten."

Gibbs considers for a moment what his agent just told him, before saying, "You can count on me."


	56. The drums of war

**The drums of war**

Director Vance made the rounds with his wife and, guided by a marine escort, goes to a private room in the back of the ballroom, connected to the main festivities area by a long corridor, where some powerful officers, both from the Navy and the Air Force, are quietly chatting. SecNav immediately signals to him, while he's talking to a man whose back is turned to Vance.

Vance walks towards SecNav with his wife. His smile freezes on his face as he gets closer to the two men talking, and the unknown person turns around, his smile as sleazy as it had been when they met for the first time in his office.

"Vance, please, let me introduce you to the newest Commander of our Tactical bases in the South Pacific, Commander Kieran McGee." Kieran looks at Vance, and he's almost gleeful at the shock the NCIS Director couldn't hide for a second, before his professional polite mask slipped in.

"Oh, we've met," says Commander McGee, smiling like the viper he is. "My oldest son, Timothy, is one of his agents," He turns to SecNav.

"Really?" SecNav turns to Vance. "You never told me that."

"Yes, Special Agent Timothy McGee, from the MCR team." Vance stares at Kieran who smiles charmingly. Jackie lightly touches his arm. Vance covers his wife's hand with one of his own in an unconscious gesture of protection.

"Who is this charming lady?" Kieran smiles at Jackie. She keeps smiling, but let's Leon do the necessary introductions.

"My wife, Jackie Vance." Vance continues to eye Kieran, wondering what he could be possibly plotting in that devious mind of his.

They are approached by a gray haired man, dressed to the nines in four star Brigadier General Air Force dress blues. He's posture is of one of those men that fought many battles, and have all the scars to prove it. Despite his battles, he's still kept a jovial approach to life, and walks towards the small circle with a smile on his face.

"Fellas, ma'am, do you mind if I join you?" His eyes glide over Vance and Commander McGee, stopping over the last one for some seconds, which makes the Commander stand straighter in his uniform, while Vance studies the General.

"Hello, O'Neill, I thought you hated these types of parties," says SecNav, shaking the General's outstretched hand.

The General smiles charmingly. "You know me, free food, free beer." He looks at Jackie, and shrugs smiling, eliciting a sincere smile from Vance's wife. "I couldn't resist it." He glances at Kieran. "But I have a complaint to make, why don't they serve a decent beer here? Just these sissy European ones, flavored." Vance studies the General, who is now looking at him with a smile on his face, but with very serious eyes. "What happened to good old American beer?"

"Probably being served in good old American bars, not in receptions of the Navy," says Kieran with a smile, evoking laughter from both the SecNav and the General.

O'Neill looks at Kieran, and SecNav, silently asking to be introduced. "General Jack O'Neill, let me introduce you to Commander Kieran McGee, and Director Leon Vance, from NCIS with his very charming wife, Jackie."

Jack shakes all the hands, elegantly kisses Jackie's palm, smirks, and turns to SecNav. "Are you playing golf next week?" He asks, sipping his drink, but for some reason Vance feels that golf is the least of the worries in the General's mind.

SecNav smirks. "Sure, invite that tall foreigner friend of yours, he has a wicked swing."

O'Neill smiles. "Will do." His phone rings so he excuses himself and leaves their circle, to answer it.

"O'Neill." He immediately tenses with whatever he hears. He turns slightly, and his eyes cross with Vance for a moment, and Vance feels a foreboding sense of doom. Something is wrong, very wrong.

General O'Neill closes his phone, nods briefly at Vance and marches out of the room. Vance can't help but stare at his back as he leaves.

"Something wrong, Director?" asks Commander McGee, smiling at Vance as he knew something that the Director didn't, he looked far too proud of himself, but Vane couldn't figure out the reason why.

Vance turns to him, sees his satisfied smile and he feels the extraordinary urge to punch it off of his face. "No, I don't think so." He takes his wife's hand, excuses himself to SecNav, and guides her away from them.

Jackie keeps an awkward smile plastered on her face until they leave the room. As soon as they get to the corridor, she turns and looks at him, worried. He pulls out his cell phone and dials a number.

"What's going on, Leon?"

"Something is happening," he answers vagely as he glances back to the SecNav and Commander MGee talking and laughing. "Something bad. And I have to find out what it is."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs phone rings, he picks it up and looks at the ID caller. Joy glances at him, as the SUVs and the Porsche stop at a red light.

"Vance," he says to her, as he answers the phone. "Leon, isn't it a little bit late for you to be up and about?"

"Cut the crap, Agent Gibbs, and tell me what's going on," says Vance, irritated.

Gibbs looks at the SUV in front of the Porsche turning onto Connecticut Ave. "We have a situation right now, but we're working on it. Why are you asking?"

"Because I'm at in the Renaissance hotel, where Commander Kieran McGee and SecNav are talking as if they were longtime buddies, and General O'Neill just left the room as if the hellhounds were after him, right after receiving a phone call. So, cut the crap and tell me!"

Vance senses Jackie's eyes on him, studying his face, but for the first time in a long time he can't hide his astonishment to what he's hearing, and she sees him becoming pale, and freezing as if the news he had just received was very terrible indeed.

"Leon?" She says his name softly, trying to get his attention, but he's staring at the wall, first with a surprised face, then slowly fury starts to boil and he can barely restrain his anger. "Leon?" she says again. When her husband turns to her, she sees his deep burning anger and that frightens her.

"Where are you now?" He asks whoever he's speaking to. He nods. "I'm in one of the private rooms in the back, so is SecNav and him, I'll be waiting for your arrival."

He disconnects, and notices the worried look of his wife. "Who's with the kids?"

Jackie shakes her head. "The normal security detail, why?"

He hands his phone to Jackie, and she sees that he's no longer Leon, her husband, he's now Vance, the director of NCIS. "I want you to call home, and ensure that everything is all right. Speak to the agent in charge, and tell him to call back up immediately."

"You think someone might attack our kids?" Jackie feels panic rise inside of her.

Leon shakes his head. "It's just a precaution, there were other attacks tonight." He looks into the room, where SecNav now talks with another Navy officer, with Commander McGee by his side.

"What attacks, Leon?"

He glances back at his wife. "Go, the Valkyries are coming."


	57. The ride of the Valkyries

**a/n: Sorry it took me a while to update. The next chapters I will do some musical suggestions so you may enjoy fully the chapter. Suggestion for background music for this chapter is The Ride of the Valkyries, from Wagner. Look it up in the internet, in you tube wherever... and read the chapter with that rolling in the background. **

**Back to the story.**

* * *

**The ride of the Valkyries**

The two FBI SUVs and the Porsche stop before the Renaissance hotel. The Buchanans throw their keys to the valets and march towards the doors. Some security bouncers try to stop the group from entering the hotel.

Faith, Hope and Temp show their FBI IDs without stopping and they bulldoze their way in, followed by the NCIS agents. They are stopped by another security guard at the door of the reception hall, this one with all the pointers of being a Marine.

"You can't go in there, Sir," he says to Gibbs, who stops and stares him down.

"I have an arrest to make, and if you don't get out of my way, I will arrest you for obstruction of justice," he says coldly.

The Marine looks at the group with him, all three of them with their FBI IDs, the others with NCIS. He looks at the other security staff at the door, and steps back, letting them enter the ballroom.

They enter the reception, and look at a sea of dress blues and gala uniforms as far as the eye can see.

"Temp, find the judge," says Joy, looking at all the people gathered in the ballroom.

"On it." She disappears amidst the crowd.

Tony glances at Ziva, and sighs. "How the hell will we find the Commander here?" There were at least eight hundred people in the hall, and at least half were in the Navy's gala uniform. It would take hours until they could find him, time that they didn't have.

"Ziva, Tony go to the left, Faith and Hope go to the right, and me and Joy go ahead, as soon as one of you find him, give the others a call," orders Gibbs, already tackling the problem in a practical way.

"No need of it," says Hope, as she steps closer to Joy, whose face is scrunched in concentration, her eyes closed. "We don't need to look for him." She turns to Joy, and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Where is he, Joy?"

Joy is breathing deeply, and leans her head to the side, as if she's listening for something.

"What is she doing?" asks Tony, staring at his teammate.

Faith smirks, and glances at the NCIS agents. "She's hunting."

Joy opens her eyes, and points to the left. "This way." She starts marching towards the back of the ballroom, followed closely by the others. Some party goers stare at them, at their angry looks and at the blood soaked clothes of the woman leading the group. Those in their way, as soon as they looked at them, opened space so they could pass.

"Does she know where she's going?" Ziva stares at her teammate's back, following her through the crowd.

"When she's in hunting mode, she always knows," says Hope, shaking her head. "I've seen her doing that only a couple of times when she was profiling, it's almost like she creates a mental link with the unsub she's profiling and simply follows the stench of it until she finds him."

"Like mindreading or something?" Tony stares at Joy, following her through the ballroom, "Or is it just her gut?"

Hope shrugs, "I have no idea."

They turn a corridor, they can see Vance standing at the door of a private room at the end of it. He looks at Gibbs, and from distance he can see the damage the attacks perpetrated against his agents have caused. Gibbs' face is sporting some bruises, and there are cuts on his lip and eyebrows, barely bleeding. Ziva's clothing is not in its usual proper way, but she doesn't seem to be injured. Tony's face is battered, and huge purple marks could be seen from where Vance is. However, Vance is having a hard time believing the state his profiler is in: Her sweater has blood spatter marks, her jeans are soaked in dried blood, and her tennis shoes must have been white sometime ago, but now they were just colored in dark red.

"Agent Gibbs." He glances at Joy. "Agent Buchanan, what do you are planning to -"

Joy ignores him and marches into the small room, and all present stop to stare at the crazy looking woman standing there, and the strange group that entered with her.

"Agent Buchanan," calls Vance, following her inside the room and taking her arm. She looks at him. "What's the meaning of this?" He stares down at her, and he feels her shaking under his fingers. Her eyes are burning with fury, and she's barely holding on her temper .

Gibbs simply advances into the room, nods to the SecNav, and stares at Kieran, his hands closing and opening into fists. Faith and Ziva sidestep the Director and Joy, and grab Kieran by his arms and turn him so they could cuff him.

"What's the meaning of this?" SecNav demands, looking at the two furious women who are holding Kieran, and at the furious Marine glaring at the Commander.

"Commander Kieran McGee," says Faith, tightening his cuffs on his wrist. "You are under arrest for the attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder of eight federal agents and three federal employees, you have the right to remain silent."

"Everything, and I do mean everything you say will be used against you." Ziva leans closer to his ear and whispers, "and it will also be a great excuse for me to hit you." She grins like a maniac, as she and Faith latch on his arms and hold him firmly.

SecNav looks at Director Vance, "Vance, what is going on? I demand an explanation."

"Your explanation, sir, is that this man plotted and ordered the murder of eight Special Agents, five from NCIS and three from the FBI, plus three other federal employees," Gibbs answers instead, glaring at Kieran, as Faith and Ziva held him by each arm, and hisses just for his ears, "We told you to stay away from your children, but you didn't listen."

He takes a step back, and looks at SecNav. "The only reason we're not dead is because we fought back, and turned the table on them."

"This is blasphemy, you will pay for dirtying my name like that!" Kieran sneers at Gibbs, struggling against the agents' hold.

"Blasphemy?" Joy chuckles bitterly, shaking with fury, she marches towards Kieran, but Gibbs steps in front of her. "You think this is blasphemy? Blasphemy is a father that hates his progeny so much, he sends killers to his own son's house."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I've been here the whole night, I have witnesses," insists Kieran.

"Ahh, come on, what were you thinking when you asked your Mob friend to take care of the problem?" Tony asks with a vicious smirk on his face. There is a murmur between the Navy and Air Force officers watching the exchange.

Joy continues, "He sent six killers to his son's house, they beat up Tim, and they tried to rape Sarah."

"What?" Kieran's voice is not so confident anymore. "But that wasn't the plan."

"So there was a plan, then?" Gibbs glares at Kieran. "They are mob contract killers, and you trusted them to kidnap your daughter to take her to you, so what the hell were you thinking they would do?"

"That's a lie!" He starts struggling against the agents. "They weren't supposed to harm her."

"Ah, so they were supposed to harm McGee?" asks Tony, furious. "Or they were just to walk into the apartment and simply ASK her nicely to come with them?"

Kieran shakes his head. "You have no proof anyway. I was here the whole night."

"You're mistaken," says Hope grinning, she opens her laptop and starts pulling video surveillance of the townhouse.

As she gets to the part of the video she wants, she cuts the video and just plays the audio, where Joy talks to the dying hit man in the corridor of the Buchanan's townhouse, who admits he was sent by Mike Murdock under orders of his Commander.

After their argument about the surveillance equipment Hope had installed both in Tim's and Joy's apartment, Joy had agreed to install top of the line surveillance in all the areas of the townhouse after Joy had moved in, and Hope had slowly added her snoop equipment to all NCIS houses as well.

The surveillance had recorded every murder attempt against Gibbs' Team, both the audio as well as the video of them.

After she plays the audio from the townhouse, there is a silent pause, as everyone in the room tries to absorb the enormity of the perfidy this man had done. Even SecNav is staring at Commander McGee with disgust, as he struggles against Ziva's and Faith's grasp.

"That's a lie!"

Hope shakes her head. "If that's not enough, I also have the videos on the murder attempts of six others, and phone records and wire tap surveillance showing that you contacted Mike Murdoch, giving him our names to investigate."

SecNav looks at the furious woman with blood soaked clothes. "Agent Buchanan." Joy blinks, and looks at SecNav. "Was this audio recording made during the attempt against your life?"

She is shouting inside, roaring with fury and shaking nonstop, so she doesn't answer verbally, just nods her head.

"How many men attacked you?"

She blinks, and SecNav sees her struggling to answer him coherently. "Three, sir."

He looks at her blood soaked clothes. "Were you injured in any way?" Joy blinks, and looks down at herself. "No, none of this blood is mine," she looks back at him, "It's from the thugs who attacked the Commander's son and daughter."

SecNav approaches the woman, continuously asking her questions, as he wants to know everything before taking a decision. "And how many men attacked the commander's children?"

She looks back at the Commander as she remembers everything he did to his children tonight.

"Agent Buchanan," Vance shouts, "SecNav asked you a question."

She looks again at SecNav. "Six, sir, there were six men in the apartment."

SecNav looks at Kieran, who is looking at the woman with barely hidden disgust. "And what happened to them?" Just silence from the agent, he looks at her again, and he sees her with hands into tight fists, her eyes closed, and faint tears rolling down her face.

"What happened to them?" he asks in his best command voice.

She takes a deep breath. "They're all dead, I killed them all." She opens her eyes. "I killed the men who tried to kill me, in my own house, as I left the shower, then I ran to the Commander's son's place." She looks at SecNav, and he sees the movement of airmen led by General O'Neill behind her. She continues her report, "I found and killed the three of them getting ready to rape the Commander's daughter, and the three men who were beating the commander's son to death."

She glares at Kieran. "And given the chance, I would kill him too, just for the pain he caused his children."

"But you won't," says Joseph Buchanan, entering the room right after General O'Neill.

Joy turns around, just to see the airmen marching towards Kieran. Her eyes can't believe what she's seeing. "Dad?"

Joseph Buchanan advances slowly with his usual limp, until he is before his daughter. He looks at her clothes and at her face, studying her blood spattered clothes.

"Dad?"

He puts his hands on her shoulders, and studies her face. "The Bible says '_Revenge belongs to the Lord_.'"

She shakes her head. "But Dad, he hurt Timothy," she says, her voice quivering.

He puts his arms over her shoulders, looks at Gibbs and nods. "He was not the only one he hurt tonight."

General O'Neill approaches the father and daughter, and glares at the Commander.

"Commander Kieran McGee, you are arrested for treason, espionage and attempted murder of an Air Force officer, and attempt to access and steal highly classified information." There is a collective gasp in the room. "You will be taken into custody, and I really hope that I never have to hear your name again." He waves to the airmen, who take the cuffed Commander from Ziva's and Faith's hands, and start dragging Kieran kicking and screaming out of the room.

General O'Neill turns to SecNav. "He's my problem now, take care of your people."

Gibbs looks at this General, who the Buchanan siblings called Uncle Jack, and simply asks, "Who?"

Jack sighs, tiredly. "Colonel Paul Davis, they just found him barely alive in his Alexandria flat." The Buchanan sisters gasp, as the Colonel is someone they all know from their mother's work.

Joy lowers her head, tiredly. "I'm sorry Uncle Jack, I just wish…"

"If wishes were horses," he says lifting her face with one of his hands, "I would be richer than the sheiks in Arabia." He frowns. "Don't fret about him, I'll deal with him from now on, and I believe you have somewhere else to be." He looks at her clothes. "Is this a new fashion, Prêt-a-la-mort?"

Joy smiles a little, and looks at her father. "Where's mom?"

Joseph glances at Gibbs and at Jack and smiles. "Ah, do you really think she would lose the chance of terrifying some unsuspecting nurses? As soon as we found out about this she went directly to the hospital."

Joseph looks at Joy again, and he feels her faint tremors under his hand on her shoulders. "Joy?"

She turns huge brown eyes to him. "Dad, I…" Finally her exhaustion catches up with her, and her mind simply shuts down completely.

Her father caught her before she hit the floor.


	58. Visible and invisible hurts

**Visible and invisible hurts**

As soon as they arrived at Bethesda Hospital, Ducky and Palmer rushed to the emergency room and asked about the McGee siblings. They were told to go to the visitors lounge on the third floor. There they found a very distressed Matthew sitting in one of the hard plastic chairs.

"Matthew, any news?"

Matthew stands up, filled with nervous energy, and starts to pace up and down the small space in the visitor's lounge, "No, they refuse to let me in, they've been there for half an hour, and they won't let me see Sarah!" He punches the wall with his good hand, which elicits a glare from one passing nurse.

Ducky approaches the worried Buchanan. "Come on lad, let me see this." Matt breathes deeply, and gives his aching hand to Ducky, who gingerly touches the bruises, "I don't think you broke anything, but you have to find a more productive outlet for your anger, one that does not include broken bones and bleeding skin." Ducky points to his other hand, carefully wrapped in bandages. "Have you had that checked out?"

Matt looks at his hand, and frowns at his broken wrist. "It's not bothering me."

Ducky shakes his head. "But it bothers me, I'll call a nurse and ask her to take a look at that, it seems to be a very simple bandage, and I believe you need a cast for it."

Ducky stands up, and goes to the Nurses' station, asking for someone to come and take a proper look at Matt's wrist.

Matt breathes deeply, trying to control his anger and panic. Palmer looks around the waiting room, and sees a water cooler. He goes to get a cup of cold water and offers it to Matt.

He smiles thinly. He sits down, and sips the water. Ducky returns from the Nurses' station and sits on the chair to the left, while Palmer sits on the chair to his right.

"They will come shortly to take a look at your hand, Matthew, but before I go check with the doctors about the McGees condition, what can you tell us?" Ducky exchanges a worried glance with Palmer as they both see Matt struggling to find words to describe what he saw.

"They.. ah… well, when I got there with the Metro, Joy and Tim were… well, hugging and crying in the living room." Matt looks at Ducky, and he can see deep pain in Matt's eyes. "There were three dead men around them. I heard crying coming from Timothy's room, and…" Matt's voice fails, and he shakes in shock, "ah.. she… there were … three men in the bedroom, and …" Matt closes his eyes. "She was naked, and two men seemed to have been holding her down, while the other was fallen to the floor, without his pants."

"Oh, my goodness," says Ducky, "was she harmed in any way?" He imagines the terrible moments young Sarah had been through these last days, and the months of therapy she will need to overcome her trauma.

"No." He drains his cup and tosses it in the garbage without ever standing. "Joy killed them, all of them, before they touched her."

"Thank God," says Palmer.

Matt shakes his head, trying to banish the image from his head. Matt describes the scene he walked into to a horrified Ducky and Jimmy, who could not contain their anger at the heartlessness of the Commander, their concern for the McGees and their surprise at Joy's ruthlessness.

"I imagine that the trauma must have been tremendous for that young lady," says Ducky with a sigh, and he stands up, "I will see what I can do to get information, Mr. Palmer, you stay here with Matthew, I'll talk to their doctors."

Ducky leaves the waiting room and walks with determined steps to the new doctor who just arrived at the Nurses' station, and after some minutes of conversation, follows the doctor to where the youngest McGee is being taken care of.

Palmer and Matt stay behind at the visitor's lounge, and Palmer tries to close his jacket a little bit more. Matt looks at the state the M.E assistant is in, and can't help his curiosity. "What happened to you?"

Palmer blushes deeply, "Ah, you know… ah.. we were attacked and…"

"We?" Matt sees the young man blushing even deeper, and he turns completely to stare at him.

"Ah.. ehh.." Matt leans over Palmer, who finally sighs heavily, "Temperance and I, we were.. you know… when we were attacked."

Matt stares at Palmer for a full minute. "You and Temp were having sex when you were attacked?"

"No, we weren't." Palmer becomes pale, then blushes again. "We had already, we were asleep when… ahh…"

Matt stares at him for some moments, and Palmer blushes into an even deeper shade of red. "Ah.. Matt, I can explain."

"No need to." Matt shakes his head. "Welcome to the family." Matt squints at Jimmy, and says, totally serious, "But if you hurt her, in any way, you're dead."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Meanwhile, Ducky is led by the doctor to Sarah McGee, who was in her own room by the end of the corridor waiting for her doctor to check her out again while Timothy had been taken to have x-rays taken. He finds her sitting, forlorn and alone, on a hospital bed. She's dressed in a hospital gown and with a blanked wrapped tightly around herself. The nurses had already helped clean most of the blood that she had been soaked in when she arrived.

"Hello my dear," he says, and he is very worried at the terrified eyes that look at him. She seems even more shaken than when he examined her after the shooting. She follows his approach with her eyes, silently, biting her lip not to cry.

He grabs her chart to have a look. "Glad to see you weren't hurt in any way." He hears a sob, lifts his eyes to see her holding back her tears, her shoulders moving under the blanket.

"But," he approaches her slowly, watching her sob, "there are some wounds that cannot be seen by human eyes, the wounds to the soul." He opens his arms, and she grabs him and holds him tight. He feels her tears wet his neck as she sobs her fears away.


	59. Dating a warrior

_**Dating a warrior and a visit from a dragon lady **_

On another floor, Timothy argues with the x-ray tech, as he wants to see his sister.

"Sir, I will let you go when I'm finished, and I'm not finished, so just lay down and relax," the tech says in a monotone voice, as he is used to obnoxious patients on his watch. Tim frowns and blinks at the flashing lights of the X-ray machine.

His torso aches on the places he was punched over and over. His nose was undoubtedly broken, and every breath he takes brings a small wave of agony to him. He lifts his hand to his face, and gently touches the bruises left by those bastards who tried to…"

He closes his eyes, and feels tears escaping his closed lids. He gasps, not in pain from his injuries, but from despair of knowing that his own father had sent those men to hurt him and his sister.

"Hey man, are you ok?" the tech says, as he turns off the machine and turns on the lights, blinding Timothy momentarily, "I'm calling the doc, just stay laying over there, ok?"

"No need," he says quietly, as he tries to leave the metal slab he's laying on, but his arms and his back protest at the movement.

The tech rushes to his side. "No no, you stay there until the doc comes to transfer you." Tim glares at him. "Ah, you're one of the macho man ones, who thinks that they know more than the doctors, aren't you? I will say it only once:, you obey, they won't dope you up; you disobey, they'll make you see pink elephants with the drugs they will give you, capisce?"

Tim sighs, and lays back into the x-ray slab and stares at the ceiling. The tech leaves. After only two minutes he comes back with a wheelchair, and two burly nurses help him to transfer Tim slowly to the chair, and take him back to a room. The doctor, a short Asian woman with a friendly smile, is already looking at his x-rays, and waits for him to be settled down before telling the orderlies to leave and close the door.

"Hello Mr. McGee, I'm Dr. Susan Tam, and I will be following your case." She makes some notations on his chart, and glances briefly at the black and blue man who is following her movements with tired green eyes.

"Where's my sister?"

She smiles at him politely. "She's currently under observation, in her own bedroom just a couple of floors down. Physically, she just had some scratches as far as the first initial examinations went, but the doctors will keep her overnight just to be sure that they hadn't overlooked anything. I will check with her doctor about the possibility of bringing her to stay with you in the same room. If he says yes, you will be able to see her soon."

She approaches his bedside. "However, I'm more worried about you."

She touches his face, gingerly touching his nose. "We'll put something to reduce the swelling, and the nurse will also prepare some topic pomade to put on the bruises, some of them have nasty cuts that we want avoid infection, you will be out of duty for a while. You have a hairline fracture to your third rib on the left side, so no extenuating exercises for the next four weeks, until we're absolutely sure that's properly healed." She helps him to sit down and undoes some strings and takes his hospital gown so she can better see his bruised torso.

He flinches as she touches the fractured rib. "You see here, this one will give you some trouble, so I'll prescribe lots of rest, painkillers and no more fights." She smiles, he doesn't.

She looks back at her chart, and starts taking notes. "Care to tell me what happened tonight?"

She notices the agent looking down at his bruised chest and arms, and gingerly touching his sore rib. She waits patiently for his answer.

"My father sent some people to kill me."

She doesn't know what to say for a moment, and she remembers the shell shocked young woman crying in the hands of the gentle doctor downstairs, that she saw only at a glance.

She feels him looking at her, studying her shocked expression. "Surprised, doc?"

"No…well… yes… but I shouldn't be, what about your sister, did he want her dead too?"

Timothy shakes his head, and feels a little bit dizzy with the movement, "No, just me."

Dr. Tam frowns. "What kind of father would want his own son dead?"

Timothy shrugs, and flinches as the movement brings a stab of pain on his side. "Apparently, mine would. And he ended up trying to hurt my sister too."

He shocks the doctor with his reaction to her simple question, as he lowers his head, and lets silent tears of relief escape. Finally he starts sobbing, deep heartfelt sobs, as he feels the pain of his father's betrayal.

"Listen, Mr. McGee." McGee lifts green eyes to Dr. Tam. "I assure you, besides the scare, she's unharmed."

"Thank God," he says. He wipes at his nose and grimaces as pain shoots through his face.

"Now, besides the beating, anything else happened that I should know?" She studies her patient, and sees him literally lifting his protective walls. That puts her on alert. "If something else happened, I need to know," she says gently. She sees the shudder running through him.

She lifts her hand to touch him, and he flinches even before her hand lands on his skin. "Did they… try anything with you as well?" She sees him close his eyes, and his trembling intensifies. "Ok, just nod or shake your head, is it easier this way?"

A silent nod.

"Did they make you watch what they were doing to your sister?"

A silent shake of his head.

"Besides their fists, did they use anything else on you?"

A nod.

She gets closer to him, without touching. "Did they touch you, in an improper way?"

A sharp intake of breath, and she sees goose bumps appearing on his skin , and he starts to hyperventilate. "Ok you don't have to answer, just breath, relax." He obeys her voice, and silently nods. "They did?"

Another nod.

"Listen, I will need to exam you, I need you to lay down, and I will just check you out." He opens his green eyes to look at her, and she's heartbroken at the pain and shame she can see in those eyes. "Whatever happened, it's not your fault, but it will be MY fault if you get an infection because I haven't checked, ok?"

He nods, and silently lay down on the bed. She dons her plastic gloves and silently asks him to turn over onto his stomach. She moves the hospital gown out of the way and studies the patterns of bruises on his back, and slowly runs her eyes to his behind. She touches him gently on the back and sees him flinch. "I'm touching your back, nothing more."

She leans down a little, and sees slap marks on his buttocks and bruises on his legs, but no signs of forced entry. "I have to ask you, did he touch you here? Just nod or shake your head."

She sees his hands in tight fists, and feels him shaking under her hand. "He put his finger," he answers.

She takes some samples to be examined in the lab. "Only the finger, nothing else?" He shakes his head. She finishes examining him and covers him with the hospital gown. "There, we're finished."

He turns rapidly, and stays lying on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, crying.

"Ok, we're finished, I'll send this to the lab, and your sister can see you, as soon as her doctor lets her go."

He wipes his tears. "Thanks."

"How did you stop them?" She asks, curious, and the agent looks at her, confused at the question. "I mean, I can see that it was a very close call, and your sister seems to be very shaken up but…" the doctor looks at him, curious at the events of the night, "how did you escape? What happened tonight?"

He again surprises his doctor with a small smile on his face. "My girlfriend arrived in the nick of time and saved the day."

"Your girlfriend," says the doctor, unbelieving.

"Yep, she arrived, found us in trouble, then saved us." He adds as if he is talking about the weather.

"Your girlfriend," Dr. Tam says again.

"Yeah, she walked in and she rescued us," he says, with a smile on his face.

"Who are you dating, Xena?" Dr. Tam asks, flabbergasted.

He looks at the ceiling and frowns. "No, but her family motto's is _don't get mad, get even_, and all her sisters - she has four - are FBI agents," He looks at Dr. Tam, "she works for NCIS with me."

"Fierce lady, huh?" says the doctor, happy to see a smile on her patient's face.

"Yeah, very." He stares at the ceiling. "And I bet she would look really hot in black leather."

The doctor laughs softly. She turns to the door as someone enters it abruptly, a small white haired lady who is battling the hands of an orderly. "Let me go, I want to see my boy, and you are not stopping me, you you… ohh…" She looks at the bed, and freezes.

"She marched over us and demanded to see Timothy McGee. She says she's his mother, but his mother is listed as deceased," says the nurse, but the old lady waves at him, and slowly approaches the bed. She studies Timothy with worried eyes.

Timothy looks at Maggie Buchanan, who is looking at him with eyes full of worry. He tries to smile, to reassure her that he's ok, but his face hurts, and the movement brings tears to his eyes.

He's deeply surprised, though, by the effect seeing him like this has on Maggie: her face becomes a mask of pure misery, and the indomitable Maggie Buchanan does something he had never imagined he would see in his life: she cries.

"Mrs. Buchanan, I…" McGee is at loss for words, as he had never imagined that he would make the dragon lady cry.

"My boy," says Maggie her voice quivering, as she approaches his bed and gently touches his hand, "my beautiful, beautiful boy." She chokes out a sob.

Timothy looks at the doctor, who is looking at the woman crying and at him, trying to decide if she should order the nurse to take her out room.

"Mrs. Buchanan." McGee sees Maggie looking at him, who gently touches his bruised face, and he feels his own eyes watering. "Maggie, why are you crying?"

"My boy, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she says between her tears. "Will you ever forgive me?"

He frowns, confused. "Forgive you for what? There's nothing to forgive."

"But I've failed you," Maggie says in a broken voice, "all I've done, I've always worked so hard to protect the family, and when you needed me the most I wasn't there, I created safeguards, and asked others to watch over you, but it was in vain and you were hurt," she sobs, "will you ever forgive me?"

Timothy finally understands what Joy tried to tell him, when they were talking about the differences between Kieran and Maggie in Norfolk. While Kieran's actions had always been motivated by greed and by the wish to dominate and subjugate, Maggie's actions were always motivated by the deep need to protect

"Ah Maggie, there's nothing to forgive, you did your best, we're fine." McGee says, as Maggie cries and plays with his hair. He takes her hand and kisses the papery skin on it. "We're fine, we're all alive."

She studies his bruised face, and nods. The doctor and the nurse leave, letting the two family members slowly console each other.


	60. Blue Musical Unicorns

**Again, I would like to suggest a background music for this chapter. If possible, please look up Yiruma, River flows in you in Youtube and listen to it as a background.****

* * *

****Blue Musical Unicorns **

A couple of hours later, Sarah enters the room, and she rushes to her brother's side and cries all over him. Maggie, Matthew, Ducky and Palmer enter the room in a more sedated pace. Ducky had talked to both Tim's and Sarah's doctors, and had arranged for Sarah to stay in observation in the same room as her brother.

As the two McGees slowly reacquainted themselves to each other, Maggie approaches her own son, Matthew, and studied his tired face, not liking the pure exhaustion she saw in his eyes. She sits down on one of the chairs and pats the one next to her.

Her baby boy sits beside her, and waits for her dressing down. However, she simply smiles at him, and lifts her hand to his face, and caresses it, bringing it to her shoulder.

"Sleep, you're tired, Matt." Only five minutes with her playing with his hair, he was already asleep.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The soft light of the morning shining into the hospital room and on the bed illuminated both Timothy and Sarah, who had fallen asleep sitting on a chair by her brother's bedside. Her head was lying on his bed, one of her hands in a tight grip with his.

McGee slowly wakes up and he feels someone's hand over his other hand, and he twitches. The hand answers with a firm grip, callused masculine fingers holding onto his hand, transmitting security and a stronghold in time of trouble.

He blinks, slowly, and he's not really surprised to see, when his eyesight finally clears enough, deep blue eyes looking concerned at him, a concern that is usually reserved only to those near death situations that happened in their line of work.

"Boss," he says, but his mouth was dry and his voice comes out croaky.

"Shush," Gibbs says, and gives him some ice chips. "You don't want to wake up Sarah or Joy."

McGee takes the ice chips gladly and frowns. "Joy?" Gibbs points with his chin to the other side of the room. McGee turns his head to see Joy sleeping on the other hospital bed, an IV connected to her vein.

He studies her for a long while. He sees the paleness and the deep circles around her eyes, and he studies the IV connected to her.

"What happened?"

"She collapsed. Right after we arrested your father."

"Why?" he asks softly, still staring at her.

"Why we arrested your father? McGee, the man tried to kill us all."

"No, why did she collapse?" McGee looks back at Gibbs, frowning at the older man.

"Apparently, she was working these last few days with close to no sleep. As soon as the situation was solved, and your father arrested," he points to Joy, who sighs in her sleep and moves in the bed, "her body shut down and put her under. Ducky said she'll be good to go as soon as she sleeps for a day or two."

He thinks about the previous night. "Maggie was here."

Gibbs nods. "So was Joseph, they arrived last night. Maggie, as soon as she heard what happened, came to the hospital, while Joseph contacted General O'Neill and arranged your father's arrest."

Timothy looks confused. "I thought you said we arrested him." Gibbs nods. "But now you said the General arrested him, how come?"

Gibbs smiles, as his geek's computer sized mind is not working at full force yet. "We did, right after we revealed his sleazyness to SecNav and several high ranking officers of the Navy and Air Force." McGee stares at Gibbs, who smirks. "But apparently Commander McGee had decided to poke around Maggie's project buddies, and he ordered some thugs beat up one of the main honchos of it. He was charged with treason, conspiracy to murder and a litany of other crimes that are not really worth mentioning now. He will pay for his crimes and he will never be seen again."

McGee blinks, as the news is slowly absorbed by his brain. "He won't ever bother us again, Boss?"

Gibbs leans back on the seat, "If General is the one behind his punishment, he'll be lucky if he's not put into a rocket and launched into the outer atmosphere, without life support."

The door of the room opens, and in walks Maggie and Joseph, with a backpack on his arms. They smile at Gibbs, and look happy to see McGee already awake. Maggie approaches him, and studies his face, looking for any sign of discomfort, "Did you sleep well, Tim?"

"Yeah." He looks at Sarah, whose head is lying on his bed. Joseph approaches her and gently brushes the hair off her face. "Hey sleeping beauty, time to wake up."

Sarah blinks, and yawns as Joseph takes her by her shoulders and gently lifts her from her brother's side.

"Mr. Buchanan, what time is it?" Sarah asks in a sleepy voice.

"It's past ten am, honey, come on, we brought you fresh clothes," says Maggie. She takes Sarah by her shoulders and gently guides her to the small in suite bathroom, bringing the backpack with herself. "Let's get changed, shall we?" She closes the bathroom door after herself.

Joseph goes to his daughter's bedside, and studies her sleeping features. He smiles, opens his old aviator's jacket and takes a soft plush toy from inside it. He starts winding it.

"How did you sleep, Tim? Any nightmares?" He stops winding. Soft baby music starts to play, and he places the toy by Joy's face. She immediately grabs it and burrows her face in the soft toy. She sighs and seems to fall into a deeper sleep.

McGee and Gibbs smile at the scene before them, as Joy unconsciously rubs her face on the blue unicorn, and settles down to sleep again. Joseph caresses her soft curly hair, and turns to the other bed, where the young man looks fascinated by his daughter.

"Does she always do that?" McGee asks, still staring at his Joy sleeping.

"With Ducky? Yes." McGee and Gibbs stare at Joseph. He smiles. "Yes, the little unicorn is named Ducky, I have no idea why, it was one of the first toys we ever gave her as child." He brings a visitor's chair towards Tim's bedside, and looks at his daughter. "She despised it while awake, but whimpered if she didn't have it by her bed at night." He looks at Gibbs, his eyes twinkling. "Imagine my surprise when she said that she was working with a M.E. named Ducky, I immediately thought it was a joke."

The three men smile, but Joseph soon becomes serious again. "We've checked your place, it will be uninhabitable for a while, so Maggie suggested that you and Sarah move into the townhouse for a few weeks. There's plenty of space, and well, we're used to bullet holes in the walls, so we're very adept to redecorating every once in a while." He looks at Gibbs. "Your people went there this morning, photographed everything and now we have a cleaning crew working on it. They promised to have everything done by noon."

"Mr. Buchanan, I don't want to impose," starts McGee, just to be interrupted by Joseph.

"You won't impose, you practically already live there." McGee blushes, and glances at Gibbs who smirks at him. "And it will be no problem preparing a bedroom for Sarah. And," he says very seriously, which makes McGee look at his face, "my name is Joseph, I told you already, a thousand times."

Tim smiles at the Buchanan patriarch. He then glances at Sarah who is coming out of the bathroom with Maggie in fresh clothes.

"Ma'am, I appreciate the offer but…" Sarah starts, just to be interrupted by Maggie.

She frowns, "I told you already, call me Maggie, or mom, no need to be formal."

"Maggie." She glances at Timothy, who is watching the two women talk, and continues, "I broke up with Matt, so you don't have to treat me like that anymore."

Maggie freezes, and stares at Sarah for a full minute. She then takes Sarah's hand, and gently guides her to seat on McGee's bed.

Maggie stares at the two siblings, side by side, and she has to take a minute to prepare what she has to say. She glances first at Timothy, this young man who entered her daughter's life and gave her a new lease on life and in love, infecting her with a will to live that she had never dreamed to see again in her traumatized daughter.

Then she glances at Sarah, this young brave lady who swept her baby boy from his very feet, leaving him in a daze and forcing him to take a stand in the direst circumstances, in order to save his life and others.

His mettle had been tested in the burning fires of terror and violence, and he was not found wanting. But the price he had paid for survival had been steep, and her heart suffered for the pain she had heard in her baby boy's voice. In saving Sarah's life, he apparently lost her love and respect.

She sighs, and drops the hovering attitude and talks in a very serious tone, "Sarah, I will only say this once, so I want you to listen it very carefully.

"I care for you, not like a person would care for an acquaintance, or someone they met just a couple of times, I truly care for you. It doesn't matter if you are dating Matthew or not, I'm still going to keep on caring for you. If you ever need me, or if you ever need anything that is within my reach to give you or to assist you, you can count on me.

"When I first started my life journey with Joseph," she glances smiling at her husband, "I had never even dreamed about the places and people I would get to meet during my lifetime, but if there is one thing that I've learned in all my years, is that nothing, nothing is more important than family. Either it is the one you are born into, or the one you gather along the way, if you don't have a family, you are adrift and purposeless. You don't have a reason to fight, you just vegetate.

She touches Sarah's cheek, and wipes the tears running down her face with her thumb. "I care for you as if you were one of my own children, and I guarantee you, invading alien armies could not prevent me from coming to your aid, regardless of the fact that you are my boy's girlfriend or not. I considered you as one of my own, from the moment I saw you walking towards me scared about your brother's and my daughter's safety so many months ago. And nothing ever will change that.

Sarah is crying openly now, and Maggie simply takes a step forward and hugs her, whispering in her ear, "I will always be there for you, Sarah," she takes a step back, and looks at the young woman in her eyes, "because that's what families do," she glances at Timothy, "that's what a mother does.

"And you young man," She turns to Timothy, "you carried the burden of responsibility for a long time, on your own." She reaches out and grabs one of his hands. "But it is not a shame to ask for help sometimes. And I want you to know that, no matter what happens, I'll also be there for you, if you need a hug, or help with something, or if you just want me to terrorize some idiot who's bullying you." He barks a laugh, and Maggie smiles between her tears. "I'm just a call away."

He squeezes her hand. "Thanks Mrs. Buchanan." She frowns at him. He smiles. "Maggie."

She smiles. "I have no intention of taking your mom's place, but I just want to honor her memory by taking care of you two to the best of my ability." She touches their cheeks. "So, please stop being proud and independent when there's no reason to be, let us help you, let us protect you, because it makes us, old fools, feel better, knowing that you're safe and sound."

Sarah looks at Maggie with tears in her eyes, and she's overwhelmed by the care Maggie is showing her.

"So, are you going to move into the townhouse, no more of this bullshit of being a burden, ok?" Sarah laughs, and nods.

And the soft baby music still played on.


	61. No good deed shall remain unpunished

_**No good deed shall remain unpunished**_

It was the soft murmur of voices that woke up Joy. One speaking in a familiar cadent Scottish burr and the other in short sentences, to the point, but yet it sounded worried. She moved in the bed, and she heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor and footsteps.

She slowly opens her eyes, and she's not surprised to see the kind eyes of the resident M.E looking down at her.

"Hey, what time is it?" she croaks in a soft voice. Her throat hurts and she feels warm all over.

Ducky smiles. "It's past noon, my dear." He touches the controls of the hospital bed so her torso is lifted. It's already late morning, and the hospital bed beside her is empty.

Gibbs stands up, approaches her bed, and studies her face. She is still a little bit groggy, and her eyes are not clear when she looks at him.

"Boss?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I was run over by a truck. Several times." She leans back on the pillows, and closes her eyes.

"You collapsed out of pure exhaustion, my dear, and you also have a slight fever that the doctors are treating with antibiotics," says Ducky.

Joy suddenly opens her eyes, and grabs Ducky's arm. "Timothy, Where is he? Is he ok?"

She starts to hyperventilate, her mind starts playing tricks with her as she can't remember anything after the Commander's arrest, and the last time she saw the McGee siblings they were going to the hospital. Ducky taps her arm reassuringly, trying to calm her down.

"Timothy and Sarah are fine. Timothy was just taken to change his bandages, and Sarah is under the careful watch of your parents, who took her to eat something at the cafeteria. They will be back shortly," says the M.E., the same time he holds her hand he very sneakily checks her pulse.

"So, they're fine, really fine?" Joy stares at Ducky, trying to see if he's just trying to soothe her with empty words.

"Yes they are." Ducky glances at Gibbs, who is watching his agent with a blank face. "I'll let you two talk. I believe you two have a lot to talk about."

"Thanks Ducky." Ducky leaves. She tries to get more comfortable on the bed, but there's no way to do that when you are being watched like a bug under a microscope by Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

She looks at her boss as he slowly moves closer to her bedside. She plays a little with the light blanket covering her, and finds the blue unicorn on her bedside. "So, what's the verdict?"

"What do you think?"

She tries to smile, but her attempt falls short of a grimace.

"Considering that I admitted before the Director of NCIS, SecNav and most of the brass in the Navy and Air Force that I killed nine people in cold blood, I'm either unemployed or under suspension. That would be the least they could do to me."

Gibbs takes one of the visitor chairs, and brings it closer to her bedside, sits down, and stares at his agent. "Unpaid leave for four weeks, meanwhile you have to go through psychological counseling. You might be able to come back to desk duty if the shrinks clear you, but that's only after the final conclusions of the investigation on the shootings from yesterday."

Joy settles back on the pillow, and stares at the ceiling. "Ok."

"Ok?" Joy can feel her boss' anger burning at her blasé attitude. "They want to hang you out to dry, and all you have to say is ok?"

"How is Sarah, Boss?" Joy asks in a monotone voice.

"Terrified of her own shadow, extremely worried about her brother, but she's being cuddled and pampered by your parents, who apparently decided to take her under their wings." He stares at Joy. "But we're not talking about Sarah, we're talking about you."

"Did they…" Joy finally looks at Gibbs. "Do anything to her? Hurt her in any way?"

Gibbs takes some seconds to answer that. Even though none of the attackers had hurt Sarah physically, she was still very fragile, crying at the most simple things and jumping every time someone enters the same room she was in. Joy's parents noticed that, and were currently covering Sarah with all the care and love they could give her, as if she were one of their own children.

"Physically she's fine. Psychologically, only time will tell." Gibbs says, studying his agent.

She nods and closes her eyes, taking deep breaths. "Good."

"Aren't you worried?" Gibbs stands up, and starts pacing the small hospital room, agitated.

Joy shrugs, she knows he is pissed at her.

"They might fire you from NCIS."

"It wouldn't be the first time I'm fired. Gibbs, I don't work just because it's my duty as a Federal Agent, I work because I want to. It's my calling, that's all I've ever wanted to do, to be a profiler. But my career has never taken precedence over my family. It never will. And, as long as there is someone coming after my family or one of those I care about, I will protect them. No matter what the cost."

She feels her eyes filling with tears, and she looks away from Gibbs. "If the cost is my career, so be it. I couldn't let them hurt Tim or Sarah. Be damned the consequences."

"McGee wouldn't expect you to sacrifice yourself for his family."

"But it would destroy him to know that something happened to Sarah, something he was unable to avoid it." Joy looks again at Gibbs. "You saw him after the shooting. This could have been much worst."

Gibbs thinks for a moment. "Hope is still gathering all the evidence from her bugs and video surveillance from our places. She says that she can build a strong case with it. There are some questions being asked about why we would have unauthorized surveillance in the first place, but still, it might help."

Joy smiles. "People will never understand Hope's deep need to know everything about anyone. Most of the time, she just uses it for security purposes. Or, maybe to gather gossip intel on us, unsuspecting siblings. But in days like this, it's a lifeline. If she had placed bugs and surveillance in my place in LA, before Garnett took me the first time," Joy bites her lower lip for a second, "maybe things would have been different. They would have found me sooner. Found _us_ much sooner. Eric wouldn't have been forced to do what he had to do, and he wouldn't have lost it and end up murdering our team."

"But we'll never know."

"We'll never know."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

One hour later, the door opens and McGee comes in the mandatory hospital wheelchair pushed by a very talkative Temperance and Palmer. Dr. Tam and Ducky follow them in.

"Hey Joy, look who we brought back to you?" Says Temp with a smile, standing besides McGee's wheelchair.

"Hey." McGee studies Joy, seeing her exhausted eyes the first time since the shootout in his apartment.

"Hey yourself," says Joy, as she studies the myriad of bruises on his face, and the brand new bandage over his nose.

"I have to say, black and blue together are not a good combination for you." Joy jokes.

Tim chuckles as he's wheeled to his own bed and helped out by Palmer and Temp to lay down.

"Don't make me laugh," he says, once he's settled down, "it hurts." He looks at her, "look who's talking, the girl who sleeps hugging a blue unicorn."

Joy snorts, "at least he doesn't snore."

McGee looks at her, outraged, "I don't snore." Joy snickers.

Joy feels McGee's Doctor studying her, and she wonders what exactly he told his doctor about her.

"So," she looks at Joy's chart, "you are the infamous Joy Buchanan. I'm Dr. Tam."

Joy looks at McGee. "What have you been telling her?"

He shrugs, and immediately grimaces as he feels his tender rib hurt. "Just the truth."

"So tell me," the doctor looks at McGee, then at Joy, "Mr. McGee here told me you had quite an eventful night."

Joy studies this petite Asian doctor for a moment, and answers, "yep, quite eventful."

Joy and Tim exchange a look full of unspoken feelings. Temp just smirks, holding one of Jimmy's hands in her own. They both feel Ducky and Gibbs watching them having a whole conversation without exchanging a single world.

"Thanks," McGee says after a while.

"You're welcome."

"So…" Dr. Tam tries to break the mood, "I'll go finish your papers, and as soon as the shift nurse comes to disconnect you from your line, and you sign your release papers, you're free to go. Dr. Mallard," she looks at the M.E. "has kindly agreed to personally do a follow up with both of you and Sarah, and ensure that you will come back to the mandatory psychological and physical check ups."

At that moment, the door opens again and hurricane Sarah enters the room. "Tim," she rushes to her brother's bedside, "I've just heard from a nurse you are being checked out, are you really ok to go?" She grabs one of his hands, and looks at his face, looking for any sign of discomfort.

Ducky approaches the Sarah and tries to calm her down. "Despite how bad he looks right now, his bruises are not life threatening. With the possible exception of his nose, which might take a little longer to heal, and his rib that we will have to be very careful with, he will slowly heal with no problems. His side will be tender for a while, but I assure you the bruises will fade in just a couple of days."

"You sure, Ducky?" Sarah looks at Ducky, uncertain.

Maggie and Joseph enter the room as well, followed by Matt, whose hand is finally in a small cast. Joy smiles when she sees her brother. "Hey."

He approaches her bed, and kisses her forehead. "How are you, Joy?"

"Ready to leave this place," She says smiling at him. She points at his cast. "Is there a story behind that?"

Matt shakes his head. "I'll tell you when we get home."

Maggie and Joseph watch their children talk. Joseph approaches her bedside and touches the small unicorn lying on her bedside. "Did he help?"

Joy touches the toy. "Doesn't he always?" She smiles at her father, and closes her eyes when he leans down to kiss her cheek.

"No matter what you've done, I'm proud of you, peanut," he whispers. When he stands up again, she can feel her eyes simmering with tears for the tender and ready acceptance from her father, regardless of the horror she has been through.

"Thanks, Dad," she murmurs.

"I still have to finish my rounds." Dr. Tam turns to Ducky. "I will be seeing you again, Dr. Mallard."

"Certainly," he answers with a smile as Dr. Tam leaves the room. Matt glances at the McGees, and remembers something very important.

"Hey Timothy." The two McGees look at him. "I think you would like to know that Jethro is fine." Sarah and Tim look at each other then at Matt, who smiles. "The Metro cop who took me to your place, as soon as he saw the dog wounded, insisted that the first patrol car to arrive at the scene after him would take the dog to a vet. He's properly medicated, the bullet just hit muscle. He'll be good as new in a couple of weeks, just like you."

"Thank God," says Sarah, her voice quivering.

"After all that happened, I had completely forgotten about him," says McGee, ashamed of completely forgetting his faithful dog.

"I'm sure you had other things on your mind at the time," says Maggie, going to Sarah's side and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Now we just have to get you ready to leave." Maggie looks at McGee, with all his bruises and broken nose. "We'll hang around for a while until you all are back on your feet."

"There's no need of it, Maggie," says Tim, and Joy sees he is deeply embarrassed at the perspective of being taken care of and pampered by Maggie Buchanan.

Maggie squints at him, and Joy simply laughs at her boyfriend. "Tim, you'd better give up while you're still ahead," she looks at her father, Gibbs and Ducky, who can barely hide their mirth, "once mom has put an idea in her head, there's no one who can change it. Sometimes it's just better to go with the flow."

McGee glares at her. He folds his arms pouting, which elicits gales of laughter of all present in the room.


	62. Talk, or I throw you out of the car

_**Talk, or I throw you out of the car technique**_

Ducky, Palmer and Gibbs leave the Buchanans and the McGees, as they have to return to NCIS to finish up the paperwork and check on Tony and Ziva, who were slowly toiling with the reports of their attacks.

Joseph invites all the agents for dinner at the townhouse, insisting that attendance is mandatory. There were still some papers to be signed, so only after three pm Timothy, Sarah and Joy are escorted out of the hospital by Joseph, Maggie and Matt.

"Matthew, Sarah, you´re coming with me," Maggie says, marching for her rented Toyota Corolla, fully expecting the two youngsters to follow. Matt looks at Sarah and, with a shrug and a small smile, follows his mother without comments. Sarah glances at her brother, who's standing by Joy and Joseph. Both Buchanans are smiling at her.

Joseph leans over Sarah's shoulder and whispers in her ear, "A piece of advice: she doesn't like waiting for people." Sarah looks at Maggie, who's already standing by the driver's door, and Matt who has already sat in the backseat. She rushes to the front passenger's seat, but Maggie stops her. "In the back with Matt."

Sarah hesitates, as she hasn't spoken to Matt since he found her in the apartment. Matt rubs his face with his good hand. Sarah can clearly see him blushing brightly up to the tips of his ears. She looks at Maggie again, who squints at her. She rushes into the car and sits in the backseat with him.

Maggie takes the wheel, and drives away, just throwing glances at the two stubborn youngsters in the backseat. "So, we´re going for a small scenic drive, so you two will have plenty of time to talk."

"Mom!" Matt moans, mortified.

Sarah glances at Matt, who´s almost folding into himself, ashamed of the machinations of his mother. "I swear, I had no idea she was planning this." Matt says to Sarah, as he's fully aware that she doesn't want to talk to him.

"It´s either this or me tying your hands together for a week. So, why don't you be a nice man, and let the young lady start?"

Sarah's mind is doing cartwheels, as she has no idea what to say to Matt. "Ah…"

Maggie smiles at Sarah on the rearview mirror, "Take your time, dear, take your time."

Matt and Sarah look at each other, as Maggie drives through the touristic route of Washington DC.

Meanwhile, Joseph brings his own car to the door of the hospital, steps out and opens the backseat door so McGee could climb in. Once McGee is inside, Joy waits for her father to close the door, but he simply shakes his head. "No, ma'am, you're in the backseat with him."

Joy smiles at her father. "You're not going to tie us up together, are you?"

Joseph pretends to think for a moment. "I considered the idea, but then your mom and me decided that a good talk between you two would be enough."

Joy waves at McGee, silently asking him to slide over to the other side, and sits down beside him. "Is this some type of Buchanan torture your parents are planning on us, unsuspecting McGees?"

Joy snorts at that. "No, just the Buchanan way of forcing people to talk. Basically, its premise is _talk, or I throw you out of the car_ technique."

McGee gently touches his own bruised face and his bandaged nose. "I don't think I would survive being thrown out of the car."

Joseph slides on the driver's seat, catching the end of the conversation, "So, don't tempt me, why don't you enjoy the drive and have a nice talk?"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Matt stubbornly stares at Maggie's neck rest, wishing he could say some truths to his own mother and her meddling ways, but there would be consequences if he did, so he shuts up and pouts.

He glances at Sarah, whose hands nervously twitch on her lap. She hadn't spoken a single word to him since she came to the hospital, preferring to hang out with his parent instead. He feels terrible for all the pain and terror she went through this week.

"I'm sorry," he says softly. Sarah jerks her head to look at him, and again he feels lightheaded. That always happens when Sarah gazes at him with her soulful eyes.

Before he could filter it, he starts babbling away, "I'm sorry I hurt you at Waverly, and that I hit you, but if you had screamed, he would have found us and then you would be dead, I figured that I'd rather have you mad at me than dead, so I had to do something and then your father came into the picture and—" He smiles thinly, shaking his head in wonder, "Sarah, I'm sorry, but your father is a prick, and I'm glad that he was arrested, because if he wasn't I'd probably shoot him or beat him for what he's done to you. I never want to see you hurt or scared ever again, like I saw you last night, I feel like I lost ten years of my life, it was so—"

"Matt," Sarah interrupts him, her hand on his cast, "you're babbling."

"I am, ain't I?"

"Yep."

They smile at each other, then look away for a moment. Sarah takes his cast in her hands and studies it. "How did you hurt yourself this time? Did you punch another unsuspecting tree again?"

Matt smiles at her. "No, one of your father's goons tried to run my car off the road. We crashed, he got away in a stretcher, me with some bruises, a concussion and a broken wrist."

"Oh, my goodness, are you ok?" She touches his forehead, where she finally notices butterfly stitches on a cut under his hair.

Matt takes her hand in his, and gently kisses it. "Don't worry about me, mom always said I had the hardest head of the family."

That elicits giggling from Sarah, and a snort from Maggie, who is watching the two like a hawk. Maggie turns on Constitution Avenue driving down Washington Mall.

Sarah's smile dims until it disappears, and Matt's heart starts to break as he sees her eyes filling with tears again. "Yesterday, I really thought…" She glances at Matt, then at Maggie, "that it would be my end, that they would…" she starts crying, and Matt immediately puts an arm around her shoulders, bringing her to lean her head against his chest.

"It's over, no one's gonna hurt you, not when I'm around," Matt says against her hair, as she rubs her face on his shirt and wets it with her tears. "As long as there is breath in my body, I promise you, I will protect you with everything that I am." He plays with her hair a little, touching the soft curls, and adds, "even if you get mad at me afterwards."

Sarah looks at his face, and sees how sincere he's being.

"Your sister scares me," she says softly, thinking on how Joy rescued both her and Timothy from the mafia men.

Matt leans back in the seat, and brings Sarah with him, so she leans against his chest, "Joy scares all of us sometimes, she's always been someone really… intense, in everything she does."

He glances at Sarah. "But if I had to choose only one person to watch my back, from all my sisters, I would pick her every time.

"And I can say for sure, she really, really loves your brother." Matt kisses Sarah's hair distractedly.

"Do you think so?"

"I know so." He says, and Sarah lifts her head and stares at his face.

"Do you… think we still have a chance? Of making this work? Us?" Sarah says in a soft voice, and Matt studies her face.

"I'm willing to try." He says as sincerely as he can muster. Sarah smiles at him, and leans her head on his shoulder. Matt starts playing with her hair, at the same time he smiles at his mother, who is looking at him through the rearview mirror.

Maggie smiles back, and turns the car towards Georgetown. It's time to go home.


	63. I'm hurt, not dead

_**I'm hurt, not dead **_

Joseph drives a different route. They are driving by the Capitol when Joy speaks her first words, "I feel like I'm fifteen again." McGee looks at her, and sees a tiny smile on her face. "James invited me to go to senior prom with him. Dad insisted on following our car with his own to and from the prom, just to ensure that we wouldn't deviate from the set course."

McGee smiles at Joy. "And you were mad at him for being overprotective," he guesses, and he's surprised when she shakes her head.

"No, I felt secure in the knowledge that, if something happened, I had someone else to drive me home. No need to depend on a ride from some punk who had too many drinks on his first date."

McGee gives out his hand to Joy, who intertwines her fingers with his. "What happened then?"

"We went to prom, danced, laughed, and came home." Her eyes lose focus, and she distractedly rubs her thumb on his palm. "He left the next week for the University of Arizona, the last thing I heard he was teaching anthropology at UCLA."

McGee squeezes her hand in his, and looks out of the window, without really seeing the monuments they were driving by. "Did you love him?"

"Who?" asks Joy, confused.

"This James," he says, trying to hide his jealousy, but failing miserably.

Joy shakes her head, remembering those long forgotten days. "I was fifteen, I had no idea what love was. I only had one friend during my school years, and that was James. We never really fell in love, we just were always there for each other, the two musketeers, one for all and all for one."

McGee can't resist the temptation to correct her. "There were three musketeers."

"Duh, you know what I mean." She smiles and punches him lightly on his shoulder. He moans in pain and she cringes. "Sorry, I forgot…"

"It's ok," he hisses, biting his lip in pain, and leans his head back on the headrest.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" She slides closer to him, touching him lightly on his arm.

"Just when I breathe," he says with his eyes closed.

They stay silent, and Joy waiting until his breathing normalizes and the lines of pain slowly fade from his face.

McGee turns to her, and sees her staring at their hands in her lap. "What now?" She looks at him with a question on her face. "What do we do now?"

She shrugs. "I have no idea. They put me on unpaid leave pending the investigation. You'll be out of the field until the doctors say you're ok to go back. I think we'll have to wait and see how things sort themselves out."

McGee studies her face, and despite their difficult situation, he almost sees a placid look on it. "Aren't you worried about your career?"

She smiles at him, a small smile but a smile nonetheless. "I had exactly the same conversation with Gibbs this morning. I'm not worried because, whether I worry or not, the Powers That Be will decide my future and I'll have to live with it. But I don't regret a thing of what I did last night. I never will. My choices were simple, either my life and yours or theirs, and if I had to go through it again, I would do it all over again."

"You really would?"

She silently nods, and McGee lifts his arm, silently asking her to lean against his side. She obeys, very carefully trying not to press on his tender ribs or any other injury. McGee kisses her forehead, and tries to come up with anything to say to her, but his mind is completely blank.

"It's ok, Tim," she says, as if she had sensed his inner turmoil. "It's ok now."

McGee looks at the rearview mirror and sees Joseph smiling at him. He nods at Joy's father, who sets a course for Georgetown. As they arrive to at the Buchanan's townhouse, McGee's Porsche is already parked before it, right in front Maggie's Toyota.

"What's my car doing here?" He asks as he leaves the car. He only receives a shrug from Joy.

"Maybe it missed you, and decided to come for a visit." She smiles at him. He just shakes his head at her weird sense of humor.

As they enter, Maggie informs them that Matthew took Sarah upstairs to show her new room, that Temp and Hope had prepared for her. They went to Waverly and McGee's apartment and carefully packed as much as they could. The essentials were already in the townhouse. The sisters were just waiting for Sarah and Tim to check what they wanted to be brought to the house and the rest would be sent to storage.

"We have a couple of hours before people start arriving for dinner." Tim feels Maggie's eyes watching him, as he can't hide his tiredness. "Joy, dear, why don't you take Tim to your room and let him rest for a while? When dinner is ready, I'll let you know."

Joy nods to her mother, and leads McGee upstairs to their room. She pauses at the top of the stairs, her hand firmly on the banister while the other squeezes McGee's hand reflexively.

McGee notices her staring at the empty spot in the corridor, where her sisal carpet used to be. "Something wrong?" He asks softly, as he sees that she's deeply disturbed.

She points to the empty spot. "I killed a man here yesterday." She lets go of his hand, and keeps walking to their room. McGee sees her slowing down, looking at the walls and at the floor. If he hadn't been told, he probably never would have guessed the small battle that happened in that corridor last night.

She stops before her door, and sees that the cleaning crew had been their efficient selves again, and a brand new door had replaced the old one with bullet holes, and the corridor wall had been fixed. The holes had been fixed, and the wallpaper had been replaced. The blood that had pooled on the wooden floor had been cleaned, a whole section of the wood flooring had been removed and substituted for new wood tiles. There was no evidence of the battle of the previous night that McGee could notice, except for a faint the smell of brand new wood and wax in the air.

McGee sees her hesitating before her own door, her hand slowly sliding over the frame, as if looking for imperfections in the grain.

"Are you going to be ok?"

She glances at him, and he feels her studying his face and bruises for a moment. "I will be."

She opens the door, and brings him into the room, closing the door after him. The bedroom is exactly as she left it the night before. The towel she was wrapped in still on the floor. She picks it up and brings it to the ensuite bathroom, hanging it to dry.

McGee feels strangely uncomfortable, for a moment he doesn't know what he should do. Joy comes out of the bathroom, and see's him in the same place by the door.

"Let me help you." She approaches him and slowly undoes the buttons of his shirt, being careful not to touch any of his bruises. He stares at this amazing woman, seeing her silently taking care of him, her dark curls framing her serious face, as she studies more of his bruises on his arms being slowly unveiled as she takes his shirt off his shoulders.

"Does it hurt much?" she asks softly, as she touches a particular purple spot on his arm, her fingertips lingering softly over the bruised skin.

"A little, as long as I don't think about them, it's fine," he answers in a soft voice as well. She helps him to take his sleeveless t-shirt, careful of his bruised face and bandaged nose, so he stands naked from the waist up.

She stays silent, and he feels her studying each of the purple bruises on his torso. She lifts a hand and gently touches a particular one on his chest, her soft touch bringing goose bumps to his skin. Her hand retreats as she feels his reaction, but he catches it before it moves away.

"Sorry." She mumbles.

"No, it doesn't hurt." She looks at him, and he shrugs. "Your hand is cold."

He feels himself responding to her intense stare. He leans down, but she moves her head, freezing his move. "You're hurt, Tim," she says softly, as to justify her reaction.

He studies her for a moment, and despite his aches and pains, he feels the need to be connected to someone, to feel cherished and cared for, and she's denying it to him.

"I'm hurt, not dead."

He waits patiently for her to decide, his hand softly caressing her smaller one, asking for her permission. She nods, and leans again. They kiss softly, mindful of his bruises and his bandaged nose.


	64. Wedding gifts and family planning

_**Wedding gifts and family planning**_

In the other bedroom down the hallway, Matt shows Sarah the place, pointing to the wardrobe and the small washbasin in the corner.

"This is Temp's usual bedroom when she comes over but she usually stays most of her time in the dorm at Quantico, so it only has some of her clothes." He brings her to the wardrobe, and shows the stuffed clothes inside. "She's a clothes addict, like Hope, so she needs the space."

He rubs his sweating hands on his jeans. "This side of the wardrobe is empty, you can use this, but if you ask nicely, I'm sure Temp won't mind if you use something of hers. Just remember to ask first, the girls are a little bit insane about their things."

Sarah sits down on the bed, and she touches the delicate old quilt on it. Matt notices that. "That's one of my mom's wedding gifts," he sits down beside her, and smiles as she looks up at him, her gaze burning him, "she had at least ten handmade quilts that her mother had for I don't know how many years, so as the girls were growing up, she gave them to each girl."

He points to the delicate pattern Sarah's touching. "This one is Temp's, predominantly yellow. Lisa, once she married Johnny, got the blue one you saw in Norfolk and, if I'm not mistaken, Joy's is red and purple." He shrugs. "I don't remember the other girls' colors."

Sarah still stares at Matt, and he feels his brain turning to mush, so he keeps babbling, "The boys, the quilts are usually given to the wife, as a wedding gift, and…" Sarah still stares at him, "and you're not interested in this story so ah… well… You're tired, so, if you wanna rest, I'll let you –"

"Stay," she says softly, and Matt's brain screeches to a halt, as he desperately wants to say yes, but he knows she's tired and confused.

"Maybe now's not the right time, you're tired and you had a tough couple of days."

"Matt," she stares at her own hand, touching the delicate patters of the stitches on the quilt, "I don't want to be alone right now." She looks at him, her eyes begging him. "Please?"

Matt, since he met Sarah, has never been able to deny her anything, not when she turned those big doe eyes on him. His insides turn to mush, his arms fold around her fragile frame and he hugs her tightly against his chest. "You won't ever be alone again, Sarah."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Joseph and Maggie stand in the kitchen, separating the ingredients for dinner tonight. They hear a bump upstairs and both look to the ceiling, then they smile at each other.

"Aren't you happy to have the house full of children again?" asks Joseph.

"Well, I would be happier to have the house full of grandchildren." There is another noise upstairs. "Tim and Joy don't even seem to be trying, but I have high hopes for Sarah and Matthew." Maggie starts the marinating the mince meat for the bolognese sauce of the lasagna.

"Why?"

"Well, girls at her age are usually fertile as turtles, and if Matthew is anything like you," there is another bump upstairs, and Maggie smiles, "I truly hope to have a grandchild with green eyes on my knees before the year is out."

Maggie smiles at Joseph's horrified face. She goes to him and cups his face. "Why don't you go play your cello, I have everything under control. The girls will arrive soon and they'll help me here in the kitchen."

Joseph shakes his head at the cunning ways of his dear wife, and goes to the library. He gets the cello out of the case, tunes it. He looks around and stands up. He goes to the cupboard and takes out a sound speaker, along with an acoustic guitar, an electrical bass and an electrical guitar. He gets floor supports to put the instruments on. Plugs both electrical instruments in, turns everything on and softly caresses the strings of the guitar. There is an acoustic set of drums in the back, and he takes off the protective cover for it.

He goes back to his cello and sits down. He smiles at the instruments set before him, closes his eyes, and starts to play.


	65. Music of the night

**_a/n: Again, for the the reader's full enjoyment of this chapter, I would like to suggest you to do the following:_**  
**_1. Go to youtube and look up for the video: Rostropovich plays the Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 . _**  
**_2. Hit pause, and wait for the video to load._**  
**_3. Once loaded, hit play and read the chapter, with the music playing in the background. _**

**_Believe me, it will make a huge difference. Now back to the story._**

* * *

**_Music of the night_**

As the first notes of Bach's first cello suite drifts upstairs, Timothy and Joy were right in the middle of another type of symphony.

Timothy closes his eyes as Joy's soft hand drifts over his bruised chest as he lay down on the bed, her fingers tracing circles on his skin. She leans closer and softly kisses the same path her hands make. She lays beside him, and leans her head on the fold of his shoulder. He feels her soft hands touching, and he gasps.

He opens his eyes, and he is confronted with her dark brown ones staring at him, looking for any sign of discomfort.

"You ok?"

"Yes." He breaths deeply, his rib bothering a little but nothing compares to her soft touch. "Yeah."

She kisses his cheek, and then he feels her leaving soft kisses on his shoulder and chest. He moans when she slowly straddles his hips. She lifts her head from his shoulder, and looks down at him, without moving. They stare at each other for a long moment, and he's surprised when she starts to cry silently. Big fat tears start rolling down her face, and he wipes them away with his thumb.

"Why the tears?"

She leans closer, till their foreheads touch, and she says in an almost inaudible voice, "I thought I lost you. That I got there too late."

"Ah, Joy." His hand massages her neck, and he feels her tears against his neck. She starts sobbing, and he hugs her against him, his hands rubbing her back, his fingers silently tracing the scars on her back.

"I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere," he whispers against her ear, and he feels her sobbing intensify.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

In the other room, Matthew kisses Sarah's closed eyes, at the same time that he delicately caresses her face. He looks down at his beloved, and proceeds to make sweet love to her, all the time repeating how much he loves her and how he never he wants to see her hurt again.

And the music kept playing on.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Faith arrives with Wilson, carrying loads of roasted meat from a rotisserie nearby. Daniel and Stephanie, Faith's children, salute their grandmother. Daniel runs to the Lego box, while Wilson and Stephanie go to the library. Stephanie sits at the piano and starts to play with her grandfather. Wilson just starts bringing folding chairs to the library.

Lisa arrives with a surly Jacob and with little Priscilla in tow. Priscilla runs to the Lego box and starts playing with Daniel, while Jacob, as soon as he hears the music coming from the Library, goes there and gets the bass, and just waits for his grandfather to stop playing with his cousin this last song to join the band. Hope arrives, her hands full of ready made salad, drops her offerings in the kitchen and moves to the room where music is being made.

Tony and Ziva arrive at the same time that Abby parks her hearse close to the townhouse. They hear the music coming from the house, and wonder if they are at the right place. Lisa opens the door, and guides them to the library, where Jacob is already playing with Stephanie and Joseph.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

"Tell me again, why did I have to be the one to pick the dog?" Gibbs asks Ducky on his phone, looking at the drooling dog in his backseat. The dog moves his leg, as if he's dreaming of running, and Gibbs pays attention to the road again as he hears the explanation.

"Because you are the one who has a truck, and I wouldn't be able to carry him to the house."

Gibbs disconnects and parks his car behind Ducky's. Ducky approaches Gibbs smiling.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad, and I'm sure Timothy will be ecstatic to see his old friend well onto the road of recovery."

Gibbs opens the door, and slowly maneuvers the dog so he can carry him into the townhouse. The dog, despite his wounds, does not whine nor growl at Gibbs, as if he knows he's just trying to help.

Ducky locks Gibbs car for him, and both approach the Buchanan's home. They both recognize the team's cars. Sometime during the day one of the Buchanan's brought Timothy's car as well.

As they approach the door, they see two people standing by the door, and for their surprise they recognize the two kissing youngsters as Temperance Buchanan and Jimmy Palmer.

"Mr. Palmer!" Ducky says, and both jump apart, caught in the act.

Gibbs glares at Palmer, who blushes five shades of red, but Temperance just smiles and approaches Gibbs.

"Ah, you brought Jethro! Tim will love it!" She smiles at him, ignoring his scowl at her boyfriend.

"How are you my dear?" asks Ducky, glancing from Temp to Jimmy.

She smiles at the M.E. "We're just fine, come on, Gibbs must be getting tired of caring Jethro." She opens the door, and waves them in. Palmer walks into the house, always staring at Gibbs who is still scowling at him.

"You're lucky I have my hands full of dog right now."

Palmer gulps, and runs into the house.

They enter and Temperance drags Jimmy by the hand to the Library. Maggie welcomes Gibbs and Ducky, and tells Gibbs to let Jethro on the dog bed they put close to the door that accesses the backyard. She opens the door, just for the night air to come in and guides them to the library, where music is still being made.

Matthew comes down holding Sarah's hand and they go to the music room. They sit on the folding chairs. Temperance takes the acoustic guitar, much to Jimmy's surprise. She shrugs at him, and just looks at her father, waiting for his cue. Hope sits by the drums, and waits for the new music to start as well.

Joseph finally stops playing his cello and goes to the electrical guitar. He looks at his family and friends, gathered around him. He smiles at the surprised expression on Gibbs' face, as he sees him tuning the electrical guitar, and shrugs, justifying himself.

"I had to keep myself and the kids busy during the long winters in Montana." He looks at the guitar in his hand, and starts to softly play it. "There's nothing better than music for this."

He looks at the beloved faces around him. "We'll do something different here tonight, you were all invited here not only for dinner, but also to a night of thanksgiving."

He looks tenderly at Sarah. "We have much to give thanks for tonight, as again we were granted a huge gift, because instead of a night filled with tears and pain and mourning, we are given the chance of celebrating life," he looks at Gibbs, "again, God's providence worked in an astonishing miraculous way, ensuring the safety of our children."

"So we'll sing and praise Him tonight, and rejoice in the Lord, as He is worthy of all glory and praise," he looks at Ziva, "though we might not share the same faith, we share the same God." Ziva nods. "So let's sing to our God, come before his presence with thanksgiving, for He is worthy of all praise."

Ziva fingers her Star, and smiles.


	66. A multitude of heavenly hosts

**_a/n: Again, for the the reader's full enjoyment of this chapter, I would like to suggest you to do the following:_**  
**_1. Go to youtube and look up for the videos: _**

**_Hillsong Mighty To Save DVD Intro (My God) _**

**_Hillsong - Take It All - With Subtitles/Lyrics_**

**_2. Hit pause, and wait for the video to load._**  
**_3. Once loaded, hit play and read the chapter, with the music playing in the background. _**

**_The two songs are integral part of the chapter, and it will make much more sense with the song in the background. It will make a huge difference. Now back to the story._**

**

* * *

**

_**A multitude of heavenly hosts**_

Meanwhile, Joy comes downstairs with Timothy, and enters the kitchen where her mother is alone putting several trays of lasagna in the oven. She sets the timer, looks up, and simply says, "you're late, your father is waiting for you."

The first notes of a melody on the piano are heard, and Joy smiles as she recognizes it. She grabs Tim's hand, and drags him to the Library, saying, "Come, dad is starting worship."

"What?" He looks at her confused.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The sound of piano fills the library, and Joy sits Tim besides Sarah and Matt, and goes to stand by her father, who is softly playing the guitar.

Team Gibbs is watching the Buchanans fascinated, as this was what they had least expected when they received the invitation for dinner tonight.

Joy proclaims the verses of the Bible, as her family keeps playing in a crescendo.

_Let us sing to our God  
come before his presence with thanksgiving  
for the Lord is the great God_

_In his hands are the deep places of the earth:  
the heights of the hills are his also  
the sea is his, for he made it:  
and his hands formed the dry land…_

_Holy, Holy Holy  
is the Lord of Hosts  
The whole Earth is full of his glory._

Her father starts to increase the tempo with the guitar. Hope on the drums also start to increase the tempo, and does a small solo. Ziva and Tony look surprised at Hope. Joseph starts a solo on the guitar, and Joy continues declaiming the verses.

_One thing I have desired of the Lord  
That will I seek:  
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord  
all the days of my life  
to behold the beauty of the Lord,  
and to inquire in his temple  
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord…  
Your face, Lord, I will seek._

She stops reciting the verses of the Bible and looks at her father and nephew, who start a duet of guitar and bass, and the drums start a military rhythm, filling the room.

Everybody starts clapping their hands to the rhythm of the drums. Maggie arrives at the door of the library, and laughs as she sees both Joseph and Jake banging their heads with the music. Lisa brings the smaller children to the library so they can join the party.

Once the crescendo stops and the music slow down again, Matthew stands up and starts singing in duet with Joy:

_Searching the world  
The lost will be found  
In freedom we live  
As one we cry out  
You carried the cross  
You died and rose again  
My God  
I'll only ever give my all  
_

The Buchanan siblings start jumping with the tempo of the song. Faith and Joy start dancing in choreographed steps and singing along:

_You sent Your Son  
From heaven to earth  
You delivered us all  
It's eternally heard  
I searched for truth  
And all I found was You  
My God  
I'll only ever give my all  
_  
_Jesus we're living for Your Name  
We'll never be ashamed of You_

Everybody sings: OH OH OH…

_Our praise and all we are today  
Take take take it all__  
Take take take it all _

Ducky and Gibbs laugh at the antics of Joy's father, playing guitar as if he's one of the members of the Rolling Stones, side by side with his fourteen year old grandson, Jacob, who is having the time of his life playing the electric bass with all the enthusiasm of youth.

Abby stands up and joins the dancing sisters, who are jumping along the beat, and drags a laughing Ziva and Tony with her.

_You sent Your Son  
From heaven to earth  
You delivered us all  
It's eternally heard  
I searched for truth  
And all I found was You  
My God  
I'll only ever give my all  
_

Sarah is laughing at the Buchanans, looking fascinated by Matthew singing and having fun along with his father. She glances at Timothy, and sees the same smile she is sure is gracing her face in her brother's eyes. She smiles mischievously at him, grabs his hand and drags him to join the dancing people.

_Jesus we're living for Your Name  
We'll never be ashamed of You_

Everybody sings: _OH OH OH…_

_Our praise and all we are today  
Take take take it all  
Take take take it all _

And they kept singing and dancing for a long time still.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Jethro the dog senses something moving outside the house, and with some difficulty he moves to the garden and barks at something up in one of the trees in the backyard.

"Shush, Jethro, I don't want them to leave the worship."

"He's just not used to you yet," says a powerful yet gentle voice.

There is a whisper of wings, and Jethro takes a step back and stares at the being that lands on the grass before him. The being stretches his hand, and Jethro sniffs it, recognizing it from previous visits.

"Good boy, you know I'm a friend." He pats Jethro on the head. He lowers to his knees, and touches the bandages around the dog's chest. "I'm sorry I couldn't avoid this, but I've tried to ensure that no serious damage was made."

He stands up and slowly approaches the house, and smiles as he hears the singing inside the house. Several companions land beside him, and they make a small protective barrier around the house. The one closest to him also smiles at the praises being sung, drifting as sweet incense before the Throne of the Almighty.

"Good job, Mota," says Tal, Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts. His soldier, and guardian assigned to the Buchanan family, gives a tired sigh.

"For a moment there, I thought I wouldn't make it."

Tal turns to his soldier, silently questioning him, and Mota explains, "Sarah was easy enough to entice to the third floor, but Matthew almost didn't agree to play hooky with her."

Tal smiles, "I'm sure you were able to teach Sarah to be very creative to… convince him to stay."

Mota laughs briefly, and looks at the house. "Indeed."

"Nice job yesterday as well," says the Tal. Mota shrugs, unconvinced.

"We had to coordinate various hosts, to ensure all the humans were protected and to ensure they would get to the right place at the right time. It was very risky."

The commander smiles at the house, and says, "Yet still, you accomplished your mission. No innocent lives were lost in the battle last night."

They open their majestic wings, and softly ruffle them at the beat of the music drifting into the night, protecting the precious lives inside of the townhouse from any interference on these precious calm moments. The commander smiles at his men, as he senses their eagerness to join the party.

"Go." He laughs as several angels fly towards the music room, and join their dancing charges.

He looks down at Jethro, whose tongue is hanging outside of his mouth and looking at him attentively.

"They won't ever know what happened, at least not yet, my friend." He closes his eyes to the praise filling the air. "Not yet."

* * *

A/N: YES, I DID IT! Man, I can't believe I've finished this. And I thought writing Gathering was difficult, this one was epic! It was a difficult subject, and writing Angry!Tim was an interesting experience as well.

I would like to thanks all those who added my baby to their favorites or left reviews, I laughed and took very seriously your comments and suggestions. Your reviews were greatly appreciated.

Those who just read the story, but did not leave a review: Thanks anyway, but leave a review next time. It makes me happy.

I hope those reading the last chapters enjoy the music background suggestions. I personally love Bach cello suites, and the Hillsong United songs simply just fit. I had good laughs imagining the scene with them playing instead of the band, as I could clearly see them in my mind singing.

Thanks for my amazing betas. Your work and dedication won't ever be forgotten.


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